October 17, 2013 , Norm Cowley, Edmonton Journal

Rennie Curran draws comparisons to Green and Gold linebacking greats Willie Pless, Danny Bass

EDMONTON - A lot of history goes into every tackle Rennie Curran makes.

Years of frustration and resentment about always being considered too short or too small have built a big chip on his shoulder and are packed into every wallop.

“That really came as a result of all the criticism and hearing the people saying I was undersized,” Curran said about his ferocious hits.

The rookie Edmonton Eskimos linebacker was selected as the Canadian Football League’s defensive player of the week on Wednesday after making a career-high 11 tackles and his first interception last weekend against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“I knew I had to always be the first one to the ball, I had to be the hardest (worker) in the weight room, the strongest pound-for-pound,” Curran said. “I had to do things that set myself apart, even though they talked about my size.

“That’s why I really fought hard to strengthen my technique and make those big hits, so that I could jump out on film.”

Curran, who is five-foot-11 and weighs 230 pounds, has been dealing with the “undersized” rap since high school. It didn’t matter how many tackles he made each game, recruiters were always looking at his lack of height.

“That’s one thing I’ve always had to overcome and one thing I’m so blessed that I don’t have to deal with coming up here,” he said. “I’ve got a coaching staff that believes in me. They’re coaching me hard. If I messed up, it wasn’t about my height. It was more about my technique.”

Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed said Curran reminds him of linebacker Willie Pless (a former Eskimos teammate of Reed’s in the 1990s) because of his smaller body type, quickness and cerebral playing style.

“No disrespect to Willie because Willie is a Hall of Famer,” Reed said, “but Rennie just reminds me in terms of his demeanour and temperament of Willie Pless.”

Actually, Curran may play like Pless, but he hits like Danny Bass, an ex-Esks linebacker from the 1980s who is also in the CFL Hall of Fame.

“The young man is very explosive,” said Reed, who calls Curran a “ball of muscle.”

“He’s tightly compact, so when he tackles, he brings a lot weight behind it.”

Curran began the season playing on special teams and had a chance to learn from watching J.C. Sherritt before last year’s CFL most outstanding defensive player first broke his thumb.

The 24-year-old from Snellville, Ga., made his first start at middle linebacker against the Toronto Argonauts on Aug. 18 and has since racked up 47 defensive tackles to rank third on the Eskimos. He also has a quarterback sack, a blocked punt and nine special teams tackles.

It’s his big hits, though, that really stand out. Curran was fined by the CFL for a dangerous helmet-to-helmet hit on fellow University of Georgia Bulldogs alumnus Terrence Edwards of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He also cranked Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Taj Smith on a crossing pattern in last week’s game.

“I usually get in trouble when I try to go for the big hit because you can miss tackles,” Sherritt said. “But he’s got that gift where he can take shots and take people down. I tackle around the waist and the legs a lot more than he does.”

Curran said linebackers have to set the tempo for the game.

“You have to be the one who’s going to lay people out to get everyone motivated around you,” he explained. “I take a lot of pride in staying in the weight room and being as explosive as I can, so when I hit a guy, I’m trying to run through him. I’m trying to make sure I stop his forward progress, so you’re not going to see too many running backs get yards after contact if we’re meeting in the hole.

“That’s my main goal, is to intimidate when I hit.”

Curran knew from watching film of Sherritt and fellow Eskimos linebacker Damaso Munoz that size wasn’t as much of a factor in the CFL as in the NFL or college.

“There’s more open space (on the wider field),” he said. “My game has always been speed, just flying around and making plays, so I knew this would be a good league for me to demonstrate what I can do and my abilities.”

The Eskimos play their final home game of the season against the Calgary Stampeders at 7 p.m. Friday at Commonwealth Stadium.

Roughrider fined for hit on ReillyRoughriders defensive back Carlos Thomas became the fourth CFL player fined this season for a hit on Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly.

Thomas left his feet and launched himself at Reilly during play and made direct contact with his helmet and forearm to Reilly’s face mask and head.

The amount of the fine to Thomas, who was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play, was not disclosed.

ncowley@edmontonjournal.com

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