| No. 75 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1970-02-03)February 3, 1970 (age 55) Thomasville, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 270 lb (122 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Thomasville | ||||||||
| College: | Alabama | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1993: 1st round, 6th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Eric Felece Curry (born February 3, 1970) is an American former professionalfootball player who was adefensive end for seven seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) during the 1990s. He playedcollege football for theAlabama Crimson Tide, and earned consensusAll-American honors. A first-round pick in the1993 NFL draft, he played professionally for theTampa Bay Buccaneers,Green Bay Packers andJacksonville Jaguars of the NFL.
Curry was born inThomasville, Georgia.[2] He graduated fromThomasville High School,[3] and played for the Thomasville High School Bulldogshigh school football team.
Curry accepted anathletic scholarship to attend the University of Alabama, where he played for coachBill Curry and coachGene Stallings'Alabama Crimson Tide football teams from 1989 to 1992. As a senior in 1992, Curry was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American and the United Press International Lineman of the Year. He was a member of the Crimson Tide squad that won the firstSEC Championship Game in 1992, and a consensus national championship by defeating theMiami Hurricanes 34–13 in theSugar Bowl. Curry and fellow defensive endJohn Copeland were known as the "bookends" during their time at Alabama, and were key players in the Crimson Tide's No. 1 rated defense in 1992.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Curry in the first round, with the sixth overall pick, of the 1993 NFL Draft.[4][5] He gained notoriety for happily hugging the NFL Commissioner,Paul Tagliabue, after he was picked by the Buccaneers in the draft. He played for the Buccaneers from1993 to1997. He signed a free agent deal with the Green Bay Packers in1998, but was released during the preseason.[6] Curry played for the Jacksonville Jaguars from1998 to1999.[7] In seven NFL seasons, Curry played in 75 regular season games, started 44 of them, and contributed 95 tackles, 12.5 quarterback sacks, and seven forced fumbles.[7]
| Year | Team | Games | Combined Tackles | Tackles | Assisted Tackles | Sacks | Forced Fumbles | Fumble Recoveries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | TB | 10 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 5.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1994 | TB | 15 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 3.0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1995 | TB | 16 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1996 | TB | 12 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997 | TB | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | JAX | 11 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | JAX | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 75 | 90 | 72 | 18 | 12.5 | 6 | 2 |
As of 2020, Curry resides inJacksonville, Florida.[9]