St. Anthony Long Beach DE Curtis Weaver Talks about Unofficial to Duke

Written by Ryan Wright

When the dirt, grass stains, and blood had been cleaned off the last of the St. Anthony High School uniforms in 2014 the Saints turned in an 11-2 season thanks to the help of defensive end/tackle Curtis Weaver. Weaver was a force along the line forcing the ball dead on 52 plays, 33 solo, with 13 tackles for a loss, seven sacks, seven quarterback hurries, four pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

Offers started rolling in for the 6’4”, 265 pound, big man with Boston College, Nevada, San Diego State, Utah State, Wisconsin, Washington State, and Duke being among those seeking Weaver’s skills at the next level. The offer list could grow with other programs like USC, Utah, Cal, and Washington all showing interest among others.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I sat down with Curtis after a Saints practice to get an update on how his unofficial visit to Duke went at the end of July.

Interview
Curtis, about a month after the UCLA camp (June 27) you took an unofficial visit to Duke, how did that visit go?

“That went pretty great once I got there. It was pretty crazy getting there. It was my first time on an airplane. My first flight had a stoppage in Denver, Colorado. Then my flight got kind of delayed. We took off. We were in the air for 20 minutes and then the pilot said “we’re going to turn around because we’re low on fuel.” I wasn’t freaking out but at the same time I was a little scared because it’s my first time flying. We went all the way back and then we did not leave for another hour or two.

“We got on a new plane and I arrived at Duke kind of late. I didn’t get a nap in that I was supposed to. I went straight to the campus and met with half of the coaches. Then a lady toured me through the campus telling me about what is happening on campus, all of the rebuilding that is going on, and talked to me about the teachers. That went good. I learned a lot of stuff about how Duke will help with academics. That was big.

“Then I came back and met with Coach (Jim) Collins, the defensive line coach. We talked about how he sees me being utilized at Duke and what he liked about me. Then I went with Coach (Jim) Knowles, the defensive coordinator. That went great too. He wanted to know a little bit about my background, where I wanted to play, and what I’ll be doing throughout the next season.

“Then I talked to Coach DJ (Derek Jones), he’s the cornerbacks coach. They wanted me to talk to all of the defensive coaches so I can get comfortable with them. He was a really good guy. If you need help he’s there. He always knows what to say, he’s one of those kinds of coaches. I felt really comfortable with him.

“Then we went to lunch with Coach (Jeffery) Faris, the wide receivers coach and recruiter for my area. I went with my friend Brandon Boyce (freshman defensive tackle) and a player from Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Cali.) Ben Humphreys (freshman linebacker). They wanted him to talk to me about moving from California to North Carolina. That went pretty good. I asked them what they do on their free time and asked about what it was like for them in high school. One of them was from St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Boyce) and that’s a big school.

“Then I went back to the football structure and talked to Coach Cut (head coach David Cutcliffe). He asked me about my background, asked about my flight, and asked about how I feel about high school and the recruiting process. He talked to me a lot about what is happening there and he showed me the new structure of the field. He said if I went there I’d have a new structure over me.

“Then I went to speak with the player personnel coordinator. I talked to the study hall teacher. He was really cool. He helped me on what I can do to get better this year. That was a big help. Then I talked to someone else about my pre-Med courses.

“Then I went to dinner with a couple of coaches. A couple of players came in and we were all talking and having a lot of laughs. Then they had to leave for a freshman meeting. I went back to Coach Faris’ office to hang out and watch some TV. Brandon Boyce picked me up and then we went back to his dorm. That was for me to see how the team is and who I could hang out with. They were really cool and we had a lot of laughs. They’re a lot of fun and just like kids are out here. That was pretty much the whole tour.

“To sum it all up, it was great. It was great to be out of California and see the outside world. At the same time, the campus was great and the football organization is going up. It was all good.”

How was everything left with Duke? Are you going to go back on an official visit?

“I think I’ll go back for an official because I think my mom would like to see the campus. She hasn’t left California except to go to Vegas since she left the Philippines. That would be big for her too.”

Being in LA, Vegas doesn’t really count as being outside of California does it?

“(Laughing) Yeah.”

What schools are showing you interest right now that have not offered you yet?

“Tennessee just hit me up. Stanford hit me up – I was supposed to go to their camp but I could not make it. Washington, Oregon, and my other recruiter at school said Oregon State wanted to talk to me. That’s all I know for right now.”

Do you have a timeline when you may commit?

“Heading into recruiting me and my mom had a plan to wait until after my senior season and then I would announce a Top 5 and then commit in early January when we get back from vacation from school.”

Do you know which schools will get your five official visits yet?

“No, not yet. My mom and I are still waiting to see if I get anymore offers from throughout the season and then we’ll go from there.”

I know fall camp has started up for St. Anthony’s. How is everything going early on there?

“We went on a 4-week offseason but I came back every day pretty much like it was a regular practice. When did some conditioning tests but it did not really phase me. We did 16 1-10s. The linemen had 21 seconds but I had to go with the linebackers and tight ends. So we had 17 seconds but all of my times were 15 and 16.”

Are you guys still in helmets or have you put the pads on already?

“Yeah, we’re just in helmets. Thursday we put all the pads on.”

Are you excited to put the pads on again?

“Yeah. I’m trying to get our coach to do some Oklahoma drills. We can’t really hit like other schools because we don’t have as much depth if one of us gets injured so we normally keep it kind of low.”

Photo credit: Curtis Weaver; Curtis with 2015 NFL first round draft pick, offensive guard Laken Tomilnson (Detroit Lions).