Blitzed

He often speaks in a voice barely above a whisper and seems bored at times, especially when talking about himself.

As perhaps the most coveted high school player in America, Ronald Curry has had to talk about himself a lot the last two years.

Most of the nation’s major college football schools have called. So has Sports Illustrated, ESPN and CNN. Even NFL Films has profiled the wunderkind quarterback.

“It’s been old,” the 18-year-old Curry says of the attention.

It doesn’t stop when football season ends, either. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound point guard also has college basketball recruiters hot on his trail.

Whether he’s throwing 60-yard spirals to a Hampton (Virginia) High School teammate racing toward the end zone or threading bounce-passes through defenders on a basketball court, Curry has played better than most everyone else.

“The bigger the game, the higher he rises,” Hampton football coach Mike Smith says. “And he shares with everybody, tries to get everybody involved. But if they can’t do it, he’ll take it over.”

In his 27 years on the sideline, Smith has coached players who have gone on to the NFL and coached against the likes of 10-time All-Pro linebacker Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants. The coach says Curry is the best of them all.

Unfortunately, Curry gets some of his inspiration from tragedy. His cousin, Joemel Dennis, was shot to death by a robber the summer before Curry entered high school. Now, Curry plays not only for himself, but also for Joemel, who was a year older.

“We were always around each other,” Curry says. “We did everything with each other. And then when I’d look for something to do, there was no one to do it with. Everything changed.”

Curry has had to get used to change.

His parents split up when he was 5. His mother moved the family to Rocky Mount, N.C., when he was 12. And after getting his mom to allow him to move back to Hampton to stay with his grandmother, her house burned. In 1995, about the time she was ready to move back into the rebuilt house, she suffered a massive stroke.

Ever since, Curry has lived with longtime family friend Lillian Crawford, a gentle woman who goes by the name “Big Mama.”

“Every time I do something for him, he always appreciates it and he tells me so,” Crawford says. “He’s very polite.”

He’s also smart. The senior’s 3.5 grade point average in a curriculum that includes Latin, chemistry, physics and accounting would probably get him academic scholarship offers.

He attends Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, often takes part in services directed at the children in the congregation--many of whom have his autograph--and credits God for his talents.

Curry has said he’ll attend Virginia next fall, but he’s still considering North Carolina and has not yet made a formal commitment. He wants to play football and basketball in college--but he still has some unfinished business in high school.

His career record with the Hampton Crabbers, one of the best football teams in the country, was 46-2 going into the playoffs. He had passed for 78 touchdowns and scored 88 times in his career.

The key to Curry’s success is his ability to survey the defense, see the whole field and make the right decision, says Smith, whose teams produced former Miami Dolphins All-Pro center Dwight Stephenson and former Houston Oilers defensive lineman Robert Banks. It’s a skill most quarterbacks take a long time to learn, but one Curry has mastered so well that Smith often tells him to call the play at the line.

“It’s a little scary sometimes,” Smith says. “I get ready to give him a play and he’s already checked it at the line. He’s very observant . . . and he has the green light. Anytime he needs to make a change, he can.”

Despite his achievements, Curry is uncomfortable with all the attention. He enjoys just being a kid.

“I come to school, just like everybody else. I do my work. I don’t feel like I need any breaks because of what I’ve accomplished. I just want to be treated like anybody else because I’ve worked hard for everything that I have.”