Erie, Pa.— Kory Curtis’ last football game with the Gannon Knights was on November 12, 2022. Since then, the highly accomplished former signal caller for the Gannon Knights football team has spent all his time and energy preparing for one thing: an opportunity to play professional football.
This past Monday, nearly an entire year removed from his last snaps at Gannon, it was announced that Curtis would finally be granted that opportunity. The Quad City Steamrollers of the Indoor Football League announced that they will be signing Curtis for the 2024 season, and he says he couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity. “I can’t wait to go in there and try to change the culture and do what I do best—lead.”
Curtis’ journey to professional football has been an interesting one. The 6’4” 235-pound quarterback played his high school ball in Cape Coral, Florida at Island Coast High School, where he accounted for over 5,000 passing yards and 59 touchdowns in his four years there. Coming out of high school, Curtis says he had a lot of attention from different colleges and universities, but there was one place that really stood out to him. “Out of high school, I took my five official visits to North Carolina, West Virginia, [Southern Cal], University of Miami, and Ohio State, and really Ohio State stuck out to me because Coach Myer was like, ‘Pray about it. Make sure you put God first.’ It felt like a family environment so that’s why I decided to go there.”
In making this decision, Curtis passed up scholarship offers to those other schools in favor of walking on to the team at Ohio State—a decision that paid off for him almost instantly. “I went there knowing I would have to earn a scholarship, and I was blessed to earn a scholarship two weeks in, after our first scrimmage.”
In Kurtis’ time at Ohio State, he shared a quarterback room with the likes of J.T. Barrett, Tate Martell, Justin Fields, Joe Burrow, and the late Dwayne Haskins with whom Curtis was close friends. After Justin Fields was named the starting quarterback in 2018, Curtis decided to transfer and ended up at Bryant University for the 2019 season. Curtis would spend two years at Bryant University before grad-transferring to Gannon in 2021.
Curtis spent two seasons as the Golden Knights’ quarterback, and his last season was one to remember. In 2022, Curtis amassed 2879 yards and 27 touchdowns through the air, while also contributing four rushing touchdowns as well.
Behind his performance, the Golden Knights finished 8-3 and captured a share of the PSAC West Championship for the first time since 2014. For Curtis, though, this season meant more than anything to him for a completely different reason, “It was almost like I wasn’t even a part of it because I was playing for something bigger than myself. My best friend, Dwayne, passed away and I was just playing every game for him and trying to make him proud.”
Curtis also credits a lot of his success that season to the guys who lined up alongside him, “I’m thankful for the o-line who protected me, the receivers who took care of me, and of course our defense was great, so I wouldn’t have been able to do anything I did last year without any of those guys and I’m very appreciative of them for allowing me to further my career to the next level.”
Coming off the heels of an impressive 2022 season, Curtis officially declared for the NFL Draft and began his preparation for professional opportunities, a process that has not gone exactly as anticipated. “To be honest, it’s been a little frustrating. I was projected in the 6th or 7th round of the NFL draft, but I didn’t get drafted in either round. From there it’s been an uphill battle.” Curtis has been in multiple showcases, including an XFL showcase that earned him an invite to the XFL combine in Arlington. He’s also had opportunities to play overseas in leagues such as the X-League in Japan.
Ultimately, Curtis decided that he wanted to stay home and pursue further opportunities in the U.S. When this opportunity with the Steamrollers came along, he couldn’t pass it up. “I decided to sign with them because they were willing to give me an opportunity. Their head coach is close with a lot of NFL guys and the IFL has a direct link to the XFL so there’s like a draft for the IFL players.”
While Curtis is locked in on this opportunity ahead of him, he’s still got his eyes set on the NFL, as he is still able to sign a contract with any league above the IFL. “I’m still in contact with NFL teams. It’s just one of those things where I have to wait for a situation to open up that fits me best.”
For now, though, Curtis is set to appear in a Steamrollers uniform when the IFL season kicks off in March, and he’s confident he can make an immediate impact. “I know that my ability on the field will take over because I know I’m going to work hard, so I just have to make the most of my opportunity now. I just want to go out there and perform and make Dwayne happy, make my family happy, make my Gannon family happy, and just make them proud.”
