After running a precise out-and-up route, Chris Curd had a step on his defender and a few moments to think as the pass hung in the air. Curd could have wondered about how he would have been defending the same pass at free safety last spring, or how he was playing tight end the year before, or how he would have been guarding a tight end the year before that. All Curd could do was talk the ball down to his hands, where he would catch it for a 38-yard touchdown in Saturday’s scrimmage. It was another impressive play in a spring full of them for Curd, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound fifth-year senior who is making a strong push to become Pitt’s starting receiver opposite Larry Fitzgerald. “He’s got a chance,” Pitt coach Walt Harris said. “I’m really excited for Chris Curd. He really hadn’t made much of a mark. He’s really working hard. As they say on SportsCenter, he’s made some plays.” That’s different than his previous springs, where Curd was always making a move. He came to Pitt from Youngstown’s Ursuline High as a receiver, but switched to tight end, linebacker and then free safety. Now, Curd is back where he belongs. “I love playing receiver,” Curd said. “It really feels like my roots. My heart is truly here, not to say it wasn’t on defense.” Curd is quick to note that playing for Panthers defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads taught him to be self-motivated, and that learning the defensive assignments has made him a smarter player now that he’s on the offensive side. Four seasons of playing primarily on special teams has humbled Curd to the point that he’s become a model of success for the Panthers’ younger players. “When you come across adversity, you learn a lot about yourself,” Curd said. “I had to let a lot of my selfish attitude go. The most important thing is helping the team. No. 2 is getting on the field. “Wherever they need you, that’s where you go.” Curd has gone from a nobody to a somebody, losing part of himself in the process and gaining much more in return. It’s a trade-off he’s welcomed. With starter Tez Morris and backup Corey Humphries returning at free safety, Curd asked offensive coordinator J.D. Brookhart for another shot at receiver after the season ended. Curd lost 15 pounds in the offseason and works with senior receiver Yogi Roth — Curd calls him “another coach on the field” — on his route-running at all three receiver spots. “I’ve always tried to be a hustle guy,” Curd said. “You never want the coach to say, ‘Chris isn’t trying hard enough.’ If you don’t know what you’re doing, at least you can go hard. Now, I totally understand the offense conceptually. If you know what you’re doing, you have a chance to be successful.” For Curd, it just has taken longer than some of his fellow receivers from the Class of 1999, most notably Antonio Bryant and Lamar Slade. While they flourished, Curd struggled to find his identity on the field. The classroom was a different story. “He’s been a good kid the whole time, a real good kid,” Harris said. “He’s an outstanding student.” Curd transformed himself from a near non-qualifier — he had a 1.8 grade-point entering his senior year of high school and called his qualifying SAT score of 990 “a blessing through God” — to an honor student who graduates April 27 with a degree in business marketing. He plans to take graduate courses this fall toward an MBA. “If I can give any slice of advice, it’s taking that redshirt,” Curd said. “The redshirt, to me, is one of the best tools in Division I sports. Most guys are not ready mentally or physically to compete at the Division I level. You have to humble yourself and rebuild yourself. I concentrated a lot and got focused. I stayed inside and focused on school.” With graduation looming, Curd is focused on football. He’s had time to think about everything else, from one position change to the next, and finally feels at ease now that his job is to catch the ball. For once, his future on the field looks bright. “I can tell you right now, it’s been a tough road,” Curd said. “Everybody’s pathway down the road of success is different. For some people, it goes straight ahead; sometimes it’s an S-curve, sometimes it comes full circle. “I’m just one who happened to come full circle.”

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