Julius Curry
American football player (born 1979)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Julius Justin Curry (born May 17, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive back for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a strong safety and punt returner for the Michigan Wolverines from 1999 to 2002. He played in the NFL for the Lions, Chicago Bears, and Green Bay Packers.
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
| No. 26 | |||||||||
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| Positions | Strong safety, Punt returner | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | May 17, 1979 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College | Michigan | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2003: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career college statistics | |||||||||
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University of Michigan
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Curry played college football at the University of Michigan from 1999 to 2002.[1][2][3][4] He was a strong safety and punt returner for the Wolverines. In his college football career, he gained 522 yards on 48 punt returns for an average of 10.9 yards per return.[4] He also accumulated 100 tackles, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries and seven pass break-ups.[4]
In the 2000 game against Ohio State, Curry intercepted a pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown to help Michigan beat the Buckeyes, 38–26.[4]
In the 2001 Florida Citrus Bowl, Curry had a key interception to help Michigan to a 31–28 victory over Auburn. With the score tied 14–14 and Auburn driving deep in Michigan territory, Curry intercepted a Ken Leard pass at the Michigan 15-yard line and returned it 39 yards to the Auburn 46-yard line. Anthony Thomas scored a touchdown six plays later to give Michigan a 21–14 lead at halftime.[5]
As a junior, Curry had 97 return yards on four punts and a kickoff in an early season game against Washington.[4] He missed the final seven games of the 2001 season with nerve damage to his right shoulder.[6]
As a senior, Curry had the best game of his career in a 10–7 win over Utah.[7] In the Utah game, Curry intercepted two passes and returned 8 punts for a career-best 105 yards.[4] Curry's final game for Michigan was a 38–30 win over Florida in the 2003 Outback Bowl; Curry had eight tackles and a pass break-up in the game.[4]
Professional football
After being released by the Chicago Bears during the 2003 preseason,[8] Curry joined the Detroit Lions. He appeared in three games and was credited with two tackles for the Lions.[9] Curry would spend the 2004 and 2005 seasons on the Green Bay Packers' practice squad and offseason roster.[10]
NASCAR
In 2006, Curry formed Curry Racing, Inc., to compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series; Curry Racing was the first Truck Series team to feature sole African-American ownership.[11][12] However, the team would not run a race.