Buckeyes freshman defensive lineman Caden Curry loses black stripe
COLUMBUS — Caden Curry set his sights on early playing time at Ohio State.
He took a big step forward in the process of achieving that goal in his first year with the Buckeyes.
The freshman defensive lineman shed his black stripe Monday after practice, signaling that he is officially a part of the program just three months into his time inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Curry, a former four-star recruit from Cedar Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana, has been impressing so far this spring as part of a defensive line that can be dominant for the Buckeyes. He was seen flashing into the backfield against the second-team offensive line when the Buckeyes held their open Student Appreciation Day practice last week, the latest sign that he’s progressing.
Curry certainly won’t let losing the black stripe this early in his first spring slow him down or make him complacent. He has worked for playing time early in his Buckeyes career, and he won’t stop now that he is the second freshman to shed the stripe, trailing only safety Kye Stokes, who lost his last week.
“When I was a little kind, I always played with my brother’s age group,” Curry said during winter workouts. “He’s like two grades older than me and playing in that age group gave me a mindset that I have to work for everything. That I have to get out there and outwork everybody. So I’ve had that motor on the field.
“A little switch turns on in the back of my head. I just let everything get out for a second and I’m focused on football. I don’t really care, if I’ve got to hit you anywhere I am going to do it to get past you. All of us, the new recruits and newcomers, want to work hard and get on the field and find playing time.”
Just three months into his Ohio State career, Caden Curry has earned a stripe removal. And his goal of cracking the rotation in the loaded defensive line room crawling with talent seems attainable as spring comes to a close this week.
