Wake Forest Athletics
This Day in Deacon History: Aaron Curry Drafted No. 4 Overall
4/25/2021 10:18:00 AM | Football
The 2008 Butkus Award Winner was selected by the Seahawks on this day in 2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Roger Goodell was not yet a household name on April 25, 2009. The NFL Commissioner was going into his fourth season as the chief executive for the national football league, and was conducting just his third NFL draft as the master of ceremonies.
But for Demon Deacon fans across the country, Goodell would etch into their memories for a long time to come, when he walked to the stage, his blue striped tie matched impeccably to the blue shirt under his gray suit, draft card in hand, for the fourth time that evening.
"With the fourth pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select," the commissioner paused. "AARON CURRY. Linebacker. Wake Forest."
The 6-foot-2, 255 lb. linebacker out of Fayetteville, N.C. strolled out on stage, his new team's bright, lime green hat firmly secured atop his head, the Seahawks' silky gray uniform clasped in his left hand as he gave Goodell the latest in what would become a long line of draft day hugs for the commissioner.
Curry came into the draft as the consensus "can't miss prospect," a candidate to go No.1 overall had the Detroit Lions, desperate for a quarterback after a winless 2008 campaign, not selected Matthew Stafford. The 2008 Butkus Award Winner instead was picked up by the Seahawks after a All-American senior year that saw Curry make 105 tackles, including 16 for a loss, which followed a breakout All-American 2007 campaign in which Curry tied an NCAA record for interceptions returned for touchdowns by a linebacker with three.
A former two-star recruit, Curry was part of a 2004 recruiting class for Coach Jim Grobe that was ranked 87th on Rivals.com at the time, but featured four players chosen in the top 118 picks of the 2008 draft, including Curry, cornerback Alphonso Smith, safety Chip Vaughn and linebacker Stanley Arnoux.
The class played a key role as the Demon Deacons climbed to the top of the ACC ladder in 2006, winning the conference championship over Georgia Tech en route to a berth in the Orange Bowl. Since the start of the ACC Championship Game era, Wake Forest is the only North Carolina school to win the conference championship game and the only to claim a conference title since 1989.
"It's a testament to hard work and believing in your dream," Curry told the Winston-Salem Journal's Dan Collins at the time. "And definitely it has to do with Coach (Jim) Grobe and his staff and everything they've done for us as players helping us believe in our dream."
Curry's transformation from a local prospect that only had two FBS offers to the best linebacker in college football is one of just many examples of Wake Forest's player development prowess, which started under Jim Grobe and continues today under Dave Clawson.
"What that probably speaks to as much as anything is our staff's ability to develop players," Grobe told Collins at the time. "It's pretty gratifying to think that you've helped the kids develop their skills a little bit."
Curry's selection at No. 4 is the highest for a Demon Deacon defensive player ever, and the highest draft position for a Wake Forest player selected during the Common Draft Era (1970 onward). Quarterback Norm Snead, taken No. 2 overall in the 1961 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, is the only Demon Deacon drafted higher than Curry.
The former Demon Deacon went on to have a successful start to his NFL career, totaling 134 tackles and 5.5 sacks in his first two seasons in Seattle. He later spent time on the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants, before retiring and beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Charlotte.
Curry was later promoted to defensive line coach for the 49ers, and is now a defensive assistant under Pete Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks.
But for Demon Deacon fans across the country, Goodell would etch into their memories for a long time to come, when he walked to the stage, his blue striped tie matched impeccably to the blue shirt under his gray suit, draft card in hand, for the fourth time that evening.
"With the fourth pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks select," the commissioner paused. "AARON CURRY. Linebacker. Wake Forest."
The 6-foot-2, 255 lb. linebacker out of Fayetteville, N.C. strolled out on stage, his new team's bright, lime green hat firmly secured atop his head, the Seahawks' silky gray uniform clasped in his left hand as he gave Goodell the latest in what would become a long line of draft day hugs for the commissioner.
Curry came into the draft as the consensus "can't miss prospect," a candidate to go No.1 overall had the Detroit Lions, desperate for a quarterback after a winless 2008 campaign, not selected Matthew Stafford. The 2008 Butkus Award Winner instead was picked up by the Seahawks after a All-American senior year that saw Curry make 105 tackles, including 16 for a loss, which followed a breakout All-American 2007 campaign in which Curry tied an NCAA record for interceptions returned for touchdowns by a linebacker with three.
A former two-star recruit, Curry was part of a 2004 recruiting class for Coach Jim Grobe that was ranked 87th on Rivals.com at the time, but featured four players chosen in the top 118 picks of the 2008 draft, including Curry, cornerback Alphonso Smith, safety Chip Vaughn and linebacker Stanley Arnoux.
The class played a key role as the Demon Deacons climbed to the top of the ACC ladder in 2006, winning the conference championship over Georgia Tech en route to a berth in the Orange Bowl. Since the start of the ACC Championship Game era, Wake Forest is the only North Carolina school to win the conference championship game and the only to claim a conference title since 1989.
"It's a testament to hard work and believing in your dream," Curry told the Winston-Salem Journal's Dan Collins at the time. "And definitely it has to do with Coach (Jim) Grobe and his staff and everything they've done for us as players helping us believe in our dream."
Curry's transformation from a local prospect that only had two FBS offers to the best linebacker in college football is one of just many examples of Wake Forest's player development prowess, which started under Jim Grobe and continues today under Dave Clawson.
"What that probably speaks to as much as anything is our staff's ability to develop players," Grobe told Collins at the time. "It's pretty gratifying to think that you've helped the kids develop their skills a little bit."
Curry's selection at No. 4 is the highest for a Demon Deacon defensive player ever, and the highest draft position for a Wake Forest player selected during the Common Draft Era (1970 onward). Quarterback Norm Snead, taken No. 2 overall in the 1961 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, is the only Demon Deacon drafted higher than Curry.
The former Demon Deacon went on to have a successful start to his NFL career, totaling 134 tackles and 5.5 sacks in his first two seasons in Seattle. He later spent time on the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants, before retiring and beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Charlotte.
Curry was later promoted to defensive line coach for the 49ers, and is now a defensive assistant under Pete Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks.
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