University of North Carolina Athletics
Brewer: Curry Trying To Survive Toughest Position In Sports
September 20, 2001 | Football
Sept. 20, 2001
By Rick Brewer, SID Emeritus
The most difficult thing in sports is hitting a baseball.
That's unquestionable. The ability to hit a round ball thrown from 60 feet, six inches at speeds of anywhere from 93 to 98 miles an hours with a small cylinder bat is remarkable. Making the task even more difficult is the fact the ball is usually curving, breaking down or rising-- apparently right at the batter on occasion before tailing away.
If a hitter is successful just 30 percent of the time it's regarded as a great accomplishment.
Arguably, the second hardest thing to do in sports is throw a baseball. It takes incredible skill to be able to make a ball do all those things and still get it in a strike zone.
However, I think the most difficult position an athlete can play in any sport is quarterback on the football field.
It takes a special person, athletically and emotionally, to be a quarterback. One has to be a superb athlete to do all the things a quarterback is asked to do today, especially on the college level, where running ability is often as important as the skill needed to throw the ball.
Quarterbacks have to be extremely intelligent. Playbooks are often as big as dictionaries. Plus, quarterbacks have to understand opponents' defensive schemes.
And emotionally, quarterbacks have to be able to be a leader on the field, withstand criticism and deal with the fact he's never going to please everyone, regardless of what he accomplishes.
There's always going to be a fan, a member of the media or maybe even a teammate or coach who's going to wonder why he didn't throw one more touchdown pass or call a different play in a certain situation.
On most teams it is the glamour position-the most noticeable on the field-- and quarterbacks understand they have to deal with failure, as well as success. It takes a pretty strong person to handle all that.
That's why I have the greatest respect for Ronald Curry and what he has accomplished in his time at Carolina.
He's nearing the all-time school record for total offense. Only two Tar Heel players have ever thrown for more yardage in their careers. And he's done this while being the fulltime starter for only one season.
Curry was too talented to red-shirt as a freshman in 1998. He quickly won the backup quarterback job in pre-season practice. Coaches planned to play him two or three series each game behind Oscar Davenport. He was the quarterback of the future and they wanted him to gain game experience. They even toyed with the idea of having him return kicks on occasion to get him on the field.
All that changed when Davenport was injured on the fifth play of the first game. Curry was thrown into action. He started the following two weeks against Stanford and Georgia Tech. Davenport returned to the lineup for two games before again being injured. Curry started the following two weeks against Wake Forest and Florida State. With Davenport again back, he saw action in a reserve role the rest of the way.
Curry was set to start in 1999. But, he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the second quarter of the season's fifth game at Georgia Tech. In his limited playing time he still had 908 yards of total offense.
Healthy again, he led Carolina to a 6-5 record last fall, rushing and passing for a single-season record 2,676 yards of total offense. He threw for 11 touchdowns and scored six himself.
But, his senior season has started out as a nightmare. Two of his first three games have been on the road against defending national champion Oklahoma and Texas, which may have the most talent in the nation. The other was at Maryland, which was playing its first game under a new head coach.
Carolina finally comes home this week, but plays Florida State. Then it's at N.C. State, back home for East Carolina and Virginia and then road games with Clemson and Georgia Tech. Wake Forest follows that and the Deacons are obviously a much improved team from a year ago.
Curry will 
be the first to admit he hasn't played like he did a year ago. He's thrown four interceptions and lost a couple of fumbles. But, in his defense there are a lot of reasons for that. A look at the opposition is an obvious one.
Another is field position. Against Oklahoma he was on the field for 12 possessions and averaged getting the ball on his own 16 yard-line each time. Four times he walked on the field with the ball on his own eight, one, nine and 10-yard lines. This was against one of the best defenses in college football year ago that was returning 10 starters.
At Maryland, he had 11 possessions with an average field position of his own 19. Six of those began at the one, nine, 10, 14, 11 and 16.
Against Texas, he had better room to operate on a couple of occasions, but still averaged just the 20-yard line. That included his six, seven, five, 14, 17 and three at the 20 in 14 possessions.
Plus, he's playing behind an inexperienced offensive line. Center Adam Metts is the only veteran there. The line has good, young talent. But, even veteran lines would have trouble handling the type of defenses Carolina has seen.
There have been a couple of dropped passes, but everyone has those. However, added to all the other problems, they've been especially big plays.
In a strange turn of events Curry and the entire offense is operating under its third different offensive coordinator in the last three years. Gary Tranquill's offenses have always been outstanding and the same will be true here. But, the change in terminology and philosophies the last three seasons have had to have an effect on the players.
Many seem to feel red-shirt freshman Darian Durant has been more effective than Curry at times in the first three games.
This no reflection on him because he is an outstanding young player and seemingly the team's quarterback of the future. But, his playing time has basically come when the first three opponents have had big leads and either been playing reserves or tired starters.
Only once in three games has he had to start a drive inside his own 20. He simply hasn't faced the type of pressure Curry has. Hopefully, he will respond well when he's in those situations.
But, for those who would dismiss Curry as one of those highly-touted high school stars who simply never panned out, just take a look at what he's experienced in his time here.
What he has accomplished under those conditions paints a picture of an incredible athlete. This has been a frustrating start to what was supposed to be an outstanding senior season. It's been marred by mistakes and unusual circumstances.
However, since things aren't going well and he's the quarterback, Curry knows all eyes are on him and his every move is magnified.
Unfairly or not.
That's the pressure he's chosen to face to play the toughest position in sports.
