Interview Part One: Long Beach DE Curtis Weaver the straw the stirs St. Anthony’s defense

If you have never seen St. Anthony’s High School play a football game, after sitting down and then watching one series on defense it would not take very long to indentify No. 9 on the field. Filling in the No. 9 jersey for St. Anthony’s is defensive lineman Curtis Weaver.

Weaver is a gap filling, signal-caller rushing, and quarterback sacking force lining up anywhere along the defensive line. The now 6’4”, 265 pound, talent worked his way through opposing Southern California high school offenses finishing with 52 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, seven sacks, seven quarterback hurries, four pass deflections, three fumble recoveries, and two forced fumbles in 2014.

The athletic big man was too much of a talent to keep on one side of the field picking up 11 carries scoring five touchdowns in short yardage situations. For good measure he added three receptions for 36 yards with a touchdown.

The Class of 2016 recruit has started piling up positives in another stat sheet, scholarship offers. So far Nevada, San Diego State, Washington State, Wisconsin, San Jose State, and Virginia have extended offers with teams like Duke, Northwestern, Boston College, Oregon, Washington, USC, Utah, and Utah State showing interest.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview we sat down with the Long Beach area talent covering the 2014 season, recruiting, and a look ahead to his senior season in 2015.

 

Curtis, St. Anthony’s ended the season with an 11-2 record but got off to a rough start with an 18-12 overtime loss to Vasquez High School. The team pulled together for a run into the playoffs before losing to Grace Brethren 41-38. How did the team pull back together to make a run through the regular season?

“After the first game, me and my other captain, Roderick (Ashford Jr.), we had a big halftime speech with the team. We started playing better but we didn’t mold together. After the (Woodrow) Wilson game, the Wilson game was a forfeit game, we won but in our eyes we lost that game. After that we put our hats on in practice and everyone locked into the system. Against Grace Brethren we knew it was going to be a hard fought battle. We didn’t know it was going to come down like that though. After the first two drives we stopped the run, but then they came out in the second half, countered our stuff. Then we countered back. On the last play they scored. The game wasn’t on a single player, it was a team effort.”

Will the Saints be able to replicate the success from last year in 2015?

“To be honest, skill position wise we are locked and loaded and ready. Our line will be also loaded when the season comes, we only lost three lineman. On the defensive end, we have our DBs that are ready to lock things down again this year. We are young at the linebacker core but plan on them making a big impact. Our defense will come back next year and take us back where we want to be!”

What are your strengths on the field along the defensive line?

“On defense, when the ball snaps I make first contact after that I look for the ball, and throw the dude off me. I’m always looking for the ball and pursuing after the ball. ON pass plays I’m always looking to pat down passes. In our league they throw one yard slants and stuff. There really is no time to get back there. Besides that I get in the backfield a lot. This year I’m playing the 3-technique so I am looking to create more chaos in the backfield.”

Will you take on a bigger role with the team this year? You played some offense last year will you play more this year?

“It will change. The coaches brought me into the meeting and said they want to use me kind of like a (Rob) Gronkowski (New England Patriots tight end). They’ll put me single on one side with a small corner. Last year we had a star receiver, he got all the catches and we were fine with that. But this year we are looking to spread the ball out and we have the weapons do so.”

Looking back how well do you think you played last year?

“In the beginning of the season I was getting back to it. I was playing slower. Right after the first game I said I have to take over. Not take over the team but play my role better. So everyone around me can play off me and we can contribute as a team and execute better. On offense I was there to free up the back and I popped out a couple of times to catch it.”

What was your best game last year?

““I would say probably (Saint) Genevieve, our homecoming game, or the Grace Brethren game we lost. In the St. Genevieve game I was in their backfield constantly. I had a couple of tackles for losses and I had two sacks. One sack led to a forced fumble and a scoop and a score. We won that one.

“Against Grace Brethren – I was like, all the linemen could not block me. I was in the backfield all the time. I was supposed to lineup on their strong-side where their tight end is lining up but they countered that by running down the middle. I had to be more active. Those are my two best games..”

What are some of your best moves?

“At the snap of the ball I put my hands out first, then I come with a rip or a pull down, or I’ll just bull rush and push him down. On the pass I’ll go with a spin or I’ll just fake inside go outside. Besides that I just use my off the field strength to go through them.”

You have offers from Nevada, San Diego State, Washington State, Wisconsin, San Jose State, and Virginia. Which schools are showing interest in you right now?

“All the schools show the same interest and I love that about them. They are all hungry for me to commit there. There are also other schools that have showed interest and that is, Duke, Boston College, Boise State, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Utah, Northwestern, Oregon State, ASU (Arizona State), Missouri, Colorado, Cal, and many more.

“I’ve talked to the Boston College coaches a lot. I talk to Virginia a lot. I call them occasionally, about once a week.”

Are there any schools out there that have not offered you yet that you are interested in learning more about?

“Cal is a big school because of their medical field. They came out and talked to me, they hit me up once but haven’t since. I went on an unofficial to UCLA, they haven’t talked to me after that either.”

When do you think you will verbally commit?

“I’ll probably commit during the season if not it’ll be at the end.”

You’ve already mentioned academics, but what are some of the other factors you will consider when choosing a college?

“My top three: First it’ll be academics. Then it’ll be the coaches. Can I talk to them anytime of the day and if they feel comfortable with me. The third one is the fan base. Is the school good? Are the fans going to the games? Are the fans there supporting the team? I could walk anywhere and the fans would say “hey.”

Part Two of Curtis’ interview covers his unofficial visits, camp schedule, and off season workouts!

 

Photo credit: scout.com; Curtis Weave at The Opening camp in Los Angeles.