Sept. 15, 2004
WACO, Texas (AFCA) – – Notre Dame senior linebacker Derek Curry (Sealy, Texas) has been named to the 2004 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team, the AFCA announced Wednesday. Curry was one of only 11 football student-athletes chosen for the NCAA Division 1A Team. Another 11 student-athletes were named to the team representing schools from NCAA Divisions I-AA, II, III and NAIA.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be named to the Good Works Team,” Curry said. “While my name goes on the list for this year, I can honestly say that this honor is as much a reflection of the values instilled in me by my family, mentors and teammates as anything I personally have done. I have been blessed with great opportunities in my life to help others while making the most of my own God-given talents and abilities.”
Nominations for the Good Works Team are submitted to the AFCA by college sports information departments. Nominees must be actively involved and committed to working with a charitable organization, service group or involved in other community service activities and must display sincere concern and reliability, while also having made a favorable impression on the organizations with which they are involved. Athletic ability is not a criterion.
Curry is currently in his third season as a starting linebacker for the Fighting Irish. A three-time monogram winner at Notre Dame, Curry has started 26 of the last 27 games for the Irish and has distinguished himself as one of the team’s undisputed leaders. In addition to his prowess on the football field, Curry has been a three-year volunteer for the Student-Athlete Advisory Council Pediatric Oncology Christmas Party; has volunteered at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of downtown South Bend and the Robinson Community Learning Center; is in his third year of “Iron Sharpens Iron”, an interdenominational Christian group at Notre Dame that brings students together in worship, prayer and bible studies; has volunteered for two years at “There Are Children Here”; and is a huddle leader for the Notre Dame chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Curry is the third Notre Dame football player named to the squad over the past six seasons. Grant Irons received the award as a junior in 1999 and went on to be a rare five-year monogram winner and two-time captain with the Irish while playing at linebacker and defensive end. He served as president of Notre Dame’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council and was involved in numerous community service programs at Notre Dame and in the surrounding South Bend community.
All-America linebacker Courtney Watson received the honor in 2003. Watson was responsible for creating and developing the football team’s community service initiative entitled Tackle The Arts, an interactive approach that helps inspire children to explore different areas of the arts including reading, creative writing and poetry, drawing and music. Watson also installed a food drive dimension to the event and combined with current Irish players Brandon Hoyte and Dan Stevenson as hosts of a picnic for at-risk children in the South Bend area. He regularly made surprise visits to the pediatric floor at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, addressed the Jackson Middle School football team at its banquet and participated in the St. Joseph County City Bureau Youth Fest. On a campus level, Watson was nominated and then elected a member of the Notre Dame Student Senate in 2002-03 and served as a member of the Residence Life and Academic Council committees.
2004 AFCA Good Works TeamsDivision I-AName Cl. Pos. School Head Coach Hometown (High School)Antoine Huffman Jr. CB Kentucky Rich Brooks Jonesboro, Ga. (Lovejoy)Jamaal Brimmer Sr. SS UNLV John Robinson Las Vegas, Nev. (Durango)Nick Speegle Sr. LB New Mexico Rocky Long Albuquerque, N.M. (La Cueva)Derek Curry Sr. LB Notre Dame Tyrone Willingham Sealy, Tex. (Sealy)Raymorris Barnes Sr. CB Rice Ken Hatfield D'lberville, Miss. (D'lberville)Taqiy Muhammad Sr. WR South Carolina Lou Holtz Wilmington, N.C. (Laney)Luke Johnson Jr. P/PK Southern Mississippi Jeff Bower Laurel, Miss. (West Jones)Matt Tarullo Sr. C Syracuse Paul Pasqualoni Albany, N.Y. (Colonie)James Kilian Sr. QB Tulsa Steve Kragthorpe Medford, Okla. (Medford)Morgan Scalley Sr. DB Utah Urban Meyer Salt Lake City, Utah (Highland)Brian Barthelmes Jr. OG Virginia Al Groh Parkman, Ohio (Kenston)Divisions I-AA, II, III, and NAIAName Cl. Pos. School Head Coach Hometown (High School)Justin Roemer So. LB Amherst E.J. Mills Jupiter, Fla. (Benjamin)Chris Noyes Sr. FB Bethel (Kan.) Mike Moore Newton, Kan. (Newton)Matt Wassink Sr. LB Bethel (Minn.) Steve Johnson Alton, Iowa (Moc-Floyd Valley)Jeremy Slaughter Sr. C Chadron St. (Neb.) Brad Smith Woodland Park, Colo. (Woodland Park)Chris Green Jr. CB Dartmouth John Lyons LaGrange Park, Ill. (Lyons Township)Chris Kirk Sr. FB Jacksonville St. Jack Crowe Rex, Ga. (Mount Zion)Colt Palmer Sr. FB Montana Bobby Hauck Omaha, Neb. (Millard North)Jared Essler Sr. FS North Dakota St. Craig Bohl Minot, N.D. (Bishop Ryan)John Hines Sr. OL Puget Sound Philip Willenbrock Tacoma, Wash. (Lincoln)Paul Sommerstad Sr. DB St. Thomas (Minn.) Don Roney Rossville, Ga. (Ridgeland)Mike Boen Sr. P/WR Sioux Falls Bob Young Luverne, S.D. (Luverne)