WESTFIELD – Colts head coach Shane Steichen was asked an otherwise innocuous question earlier this week about how he viewed his defense coming together in Year 4 at the helm. As he spoke about how the unit as a whole was absorbing second-year defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s aggressive, unique system predicated on pressure and playmaking, Steichen made a point to shoutout five defensive linemen.
The first four – his presumed starting lineup of edge rushers Laiatu Latu and Arden Key, as well as longtime starting defensive tackles Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner – didn’t raise an eyebrow.
The fifth was not like the others.
“Caden Curry had a helluva game in the preseason,” Steichen said with excitement in his voice. “I’m pleased with where all those guys are at right now.”
The shoutout wasn’t undeserved.
In the team’s preseason opener Aug. 13 at New England against the Patriots, the rookie edge rusher led the Colts in total tackles (six) and tackles for loss (two). He registered two of the team’s five batted passes and grabbed one of Indianapolis’ two sacks.
In short, Curry, who played the bulk of his snaps in the second half with the Colts’ third-string defense while up against a third-string New England offense, was a menace. If anything, a player who overcame a smaller build to wreak havoc and lead the Big Ten in sacks (11) last fall, and who aims to bring that same combination of tenacity and effectiveness to the pro level, would hope to shine while sharing the field with a bunch of players who won’t be on an NFL roster come the end of the month.
Curry’s spot on the team isn’t formally cemented but he went a long way toward doing so in his first NFL action.
“I think when you watch him, and just being around him, I think he’s got great football instincts,” Steichen said of Curry, who the Colts selected in the sixth round of April’s NFL Draft at No. 214. “He’s a great football player. I mean, I think he had (11) sacks at Ohio State. That doesn’t just happen.
“He finds a way to make plays. He won a one-on-one matchup on a guard. Cutting off on the backside, making tackles. I think he’s going to be a really good football player in this league for a long time.”
Saturday, Curry will get to be one while playing the stadium where he watched his hometown team growing up for the first time – hopefully for him, the first of many.
Curry, the former Center Grove football star who helped lead the Trojans to a pair of IHSAA 6A state titles in 2020-21, lived and breathed Colts football growing up just miles down the road. He was back in his parents’ home Saturday of the Draft weekend when he got the call from Steichen and Colts general manager Chris Ballard, and he immediately sprinted to his boyhood closet to pull out the royal blue Colts jersey with the famous ‘18’ stitched-on numbers and the Super Bowl patch.
When he spoke to reporters, he didn’t need help finding a horseshoe-logo hat.
Saturday, as the Colts host the Falcons for the team’s second preseason game, Curry said he expects 50 or more friends and family watching him at Lucas Oil Stadium – most of them longtime season ticketholders who would’ve been there no matter where Curry was drafted. But the fact that he was makes the afternoon that much more special.
“It’s just a surreal moment for me, to be so blessed and be able to come back and play for this great city and a great state,” Curry said last weekend. “I’m just so happy to be able to give my all for this team. I wouldn’t want to do it for anybody else.”
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: From Center Grove to the Colts: Caden Curry's dream is becoming reality
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