MIAMI – Noah Curtis is a man of few words.
This was evident at yesterday’s FIU Media Day (Aug. 7), a time where media members were granted the opportunity to ask selected players whatever questions they wanted to ask.
FIU Media Day was also a time in which head coach Butch Davis spoke extensively on the team’s expectations going into this season and much more.
“This message I’ve told this team since the spring is that 2018 doesn’t matter anymore,” Davis said. “I don’t care if we won 20 games last year or if we didn’t win any, now it’s all about 2019 and all about this team.”
Let’s get right back to Curtis, a 6-5, 248-pound defensive lineman who’s headed into his junior year.
The Athlon Sports Preseason All-Conference USA Third Team selection and Phil Steele Preseason All-Conference USA Third Team selection spoke with Football Hotbed lead reporter Marcus Benjamin on his expectations for the upcoming fall season.
“[My] personal goal is to be the best player I can be [and] the best leader I can be,” Curtis said. “[Our] team goal is to go undefeated and play a bow game on January 6.”
Simple enough.
In 11 starts (and 13 games total) as a defensive end, Curtis recorded 49 tackles (3.5 TFL), 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a quarterback hurry last season as a sophomore. In his own way, Curtis wants to improve on those numbers across the board and have an even bigger impact on the defensive side of the ball.
At the end of Curtis’ sophomore season, he led all defensive linemen in total tackles for FIU. This notable accomplishment led Curtis to being selected to the All-Conference USA Honorable Mention Team.
Curtis made sure to credit Davis for both his personal success and the team’s overall success (9-4 final record and Bahamas Bowl victory; best season in school history).
“Coach Davis is very strict, detailed, [and] disciplined,” Curtis said to Benjamin at FIU Media Day. “He holds us accountable for everything we do. He treats us like grown men…We work hard, and we’re very dedicated to what we do.”
Prior to FIU Media Day, Curtis was the team’s first player to be selected for a special summer-long Q&A Series with FIUSports.com.
Curtis opened up a little more to FIUSports.com in a May 22 column. He spoke on his All-Conference USA Honorable Mention honor.
“To make it [All-Conference USA Honorable Mention] as a true sophomore means a lot,” Curtis said to FIUSports.com on May 22. “It shows that other teams respect my game on the field. There’s nowhere but up from here.”
There’s one other thing that Curtis has been working on and wants to master.
“I need to get stronger and be more vocal as a leader,” he told FIUSports.com in the May 22 Q&A session.
NOTE: Curtis (American Heritage alum) is one of several FIU players from Palm Beach County. The others are junior linebacker Jamal Gates (Dwyer alum), junior linebacker Josh Powell (Suncoast alum), sophomore defensive lineman Jason Mercier (Atlantic alum), redshirt sophomore cornerback Josh Turner (American Heritage alum; transfer from Iowa), sophomore wide receiver Cadarius Gaskin (Atlantic alum), and freshman fullback Kamareon Williams (Atlantic alum).
Video interview credit from FIU Media Day: Marcus Benjamin, Football Hotbed lead report
Photo credit: Marcus Benjamin, Football Hotbed
Source: FIUSports.com
