Senior defensive end Caden Curry (92) gets the crowd hyped for a Rutgers 3rd down attempt. Curry finished the game with an outstanding performance, with 6 tackles and a pair of sacks. Credit: Liam Ahern | Sports Photo Editor
Caden Curry stood at the mouth of the tunnel, roses in his left hand and 100,023 voices rumbling above him, as he waited for his name to be called for the final time in Ohio Stadium.
He took a deep breath and glanced around the Horseshoe, absorbing the scene and the noise, before the PA announcer’s voice boomed through the crisp November air.
“Number 92, a defensive end from Greenwood, Indiana…Caden Curry!”
Curry pointed to the sky and jogged toward the Block O at midfield, where his parents, Chris and Maria, were waiting.
He made the most of the moment–and the game that followed.
In his last home appearance, Curry delivered two sacks and a forced fumble in No. 1 Ohio State’s 42-9 win over Rutgers, anchoring a defensive line that racked up six sacks and lived in the backfield all afternoon.
“Going out with a bang was something I was…striving to do all week,” Curry said. “To go out and do it, it’s something I’m really grateful for.”
From the moment he first saw Curry on film, head coach Ryan Day wanted him in scarlet and gray.
A four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, Curry earned an Ohio State offer after his sophomore year at Center Grove High School, where he totaled 10.5 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss. Despite multiple visits to Columbus and steady attention from the Buckeyes, Curry remained undecided heading into the final hours before national signing day.
On Dec. 14, 2021, one day before national signing day, he finally made up his mind, with Day getting the call later that evening.
“He said, ‘Coach, I kind of knew I was going there all along,’” Day said following his commitment. “I said, ‘Well, you could have saved us a bunch of sleepless nights by just telling us a bit sooner.”
Since arriving on campus, Curry has appeared in all 52 games, carving out an early role on special teams. With veterans J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer ahead of him on the depth chart, defensive snaps were scarce. Over his first three seasons, he collected 4.5 sacks and waited for an opportunity to take on more.
As 16 of the 23 players Curry came into college with left Ohio State before their senior year, Curry stuck it out and did not enter the transfer portal, a decision that makes him proud.
“It makes me feel accomplished,” Curry said before the game. “I knew I had to go through the grind if I really wanted my full potential here at Ohio State.”
The grind ended up paying off.
With Tuimoloau and Sawyer off to the NFL, Curry took on a starting role on a rebuilt Buckeye defensive line that did not have a single returning starter from the 2024 national championship team. Through 11 games, the senior has made the most of his opportunity, as he leads the team with nine sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss.
But even after the roses, the ovation and the near-touchdown that sent the Horseshoe into a frenzy, Curry’s mind was already drifting away from his story-book Senior Day and onto the Buckeyes’ quest of beating Michigan for the first time in his career.
“It’s always been in the back of my head,” Curry said about playing the Wolverines. “I’m still missing a pair [of gold pants]”
Still, the emotions of playing in the Horeshoe one final time were impossible to ignore.
“It’s kind of heartbreaking,” Curry said. “It’s the best stadium to play in America.”
