Rennie Curran (born November 10, 1988) is a keynote speaker, leadership coach, author and former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He played college football at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. Curran was considered one of the top

weakside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

s of his class, and has been called "the most dominant defensive player in the game" by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

''. In January 2010, Curran announced that he was forgoing his final year of eligibility to enter the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

. He was the 97th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Titans.

High school career

Curran attended Brookwood High School in

Snellville, Georgia Snellville is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States, east of Atlanta. The population was 18,242 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 20,077. It is a developed suburb of Atlanta and a part of the Atlanta metro ...

, where he became the Broncos’ all-time leading tackler and was twice named Gwinnett County Touchdown Club Defensive Player of the Year. He was named to the ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' Super Southern 100 and Class AAAAA First-team Defense. Considered a four-star recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

'', Curran was listed as the No. 11 inside linebacker prospect in the nation.

College career

As a

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2007, Curran appeared in 11 games making five starts with 53 tackles including 9 for loss and 3 quarterback sacks. He received Freshman First-team All-America honors by ''Rivals.com'', and Honorable Mention by ''The Sporting News''. In his sophomore season, Curran started all 13 games leading the team in tackles (115), including a team-leading 10 for a loss and a team-high 3 sacks to go along with two forced fumbles. His 115 tackles were the most by a Bulldog since Orantes Grant recorded 120 in 1998. Curran was a finalist for the

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

and earned Sophomore All-American honors by ''

College Football News ''College Football News'' (''CFN'') is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includ ...

''. In 2009, his junior season, he was voted First-team All-SEC by the AP and Coaches, and was also named First-team All-America by CBSSports.com after leading the SEC in tackles with 116.

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

The

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

selected Rennie Curran with the 97th pick of the

. He was given the number 53, the number of fan-favorite

Keith Bulluck Keith J. Bulluck (born April 4, 1977) is a former football linebacker who played for eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Syracuse University, he was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the firs ...

, a linebacker who was released earlier in the year. He was released on September 2, 2011.

Tampa-Bay Buccaneers

Curran spent some time as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaners of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

during the

2012 NFL season The 2012 NFL season was the 93rd season of the National Football League and the 47th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Wednesday, September 5, 2012, with the defending Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants falling to the Dallas Cowboys ...

, but did not see any playing time

Edmonton Eskimos

Curran joined the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

in time for the 2013 CFL season; of which he played in 16 of the 18 regular season games. In his first season in the CFL he amassed 70 tackles, 10 special teams tackles, 2 sacks and 2 interceptions; one of which was for a defensive touchdown. Curran had 53 defensive tackles and 7 special teams tackles in the 2014 CFL season. He was not resigned by the Eskimos prior to the start of CFL free-agency on February 10, 2015, and thus was a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

BC Lions

On September 22, 2015, it was announced that Curran had signed with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

.Lions sign former Esks LB Rennie Curran
/ref> He participated in

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

in 2017 with hopes of returning to the NFL, but suffered a career-ending patella tendon injury.

Personal life

Curran became the author of his first boo
"Free Agent" - The Perspectives of A Young African American Athlete
on April 4, 2012. The book was published by Rathsi Publishing and the foreword was written by University of Georgia head coach

Mark Richt Mark Allan Richt (born February 18, 1960) is a retired American football head coach, former player, and television analyst. He was the head football coach at the University of Georgia for 15 years and at the University of Miami, his alma mater, ...

. He is a public speaker and has spoken to a wide variety of organizations including schools, churches, and corporate businesses. He began playing the piano at the age of eight, the drums at the age of ten, and the

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

at the age of thirteen.

References

External links

Rennie Curran Website

BC Lions bio

Edmonton Eskimos bio

ESPN NFL Draft profile

"Free Agent" by Rennie curran
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Rennie 1988 births Living people American football linebackers Canadian football linebackers African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football Georgia Bulldogs football players People from Snellville, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Tennessee Titans players BC Lions players The Spring League players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Edmonton Elks players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people