Former UGA linebacker fullfilling promise to mom
ATHENS, Ga. - Former University of Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran will soon fulfill a promise he made to his mother seven years ago when he decided to leave UGA for the NFL. Curran will graduate college.
When Curran left UGA after his junior season, his mother made him sign a contract that he would eventually come back and finish the three semesters he had left to complete his business degree.
“We all have the dream of playing at the University of Georgia when we come here as student athletes, but ultimately you realize education is what matters most,” said Curran. “That’s the one thing after your body is depleted, and after you leave the field, whether you go high or go low in your endeavors athletically, no one can ever take that degree away from you. Once you get it, the sky is the limit.”
Curran made an invaluable impact during his three seasons at UGA. Curran was named defensive captain his junior year and recorded 245 tackles total during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
During the 2010 NFL Draft, Curran was the first Bulldog selected when the Tennessee Titans picked him in the third round. After time with the Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he played in the Canadian Football League until 2015.
Curran describes the past years as having “one foot in and one foot out with school.” Since 2013, Curran has been coming back to UGA during the off-season in the spring to take two to three classes at a time. Curran was also engaged in motivational public speaking and wrote his first book, “Free Agent.”
“It wasn’t pretty but at the end of the day I got the win,” Curran said about earning his degree.
Curran said he took the perseverance and discipline lessons learned in football and applied them to his academics.
“It’s similar to playing linebacker,” said Curran. “You are going to get knocked down. You are going to make some good plays. Sometimes you are going to get some bumps and bruises. It’s about getting back up and pushing forward.”
After graduation, Curran plans to continue public speaking. The former UGA linebacker is also in the process of writing more books.