Arkansas football has its eyes on an athletic in-state lineman who has accrued offers from across the SEC.
Carius Curne, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound junior at Marion High School, plays both ways on the line. His future appears to be on offense, though, as that’s where he’s earned a three-star rating on 247Sports and Rivals.
The Class of 2025 prospect is starting to attract some major attention and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his stock rise shortly. He is a dominant player for the Patriots and already has some major names on his offer sheet, including Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee and the home-state Razorbacks.
The Recruitment of Carius Curne
The recruiting process started in March for Carius Curne. That’s when reported his first FBS offer – from Memphis, which is just a short drive away from Marion.
A few weeks later he visited a junior camp at SMU and earned offers from SMU, Texas State and Liberty.
“That day he popped off in front of multiple schools that ended up offering him,” Marion offensive coordinator Zach Tribble told SBLive. “That is when all of the national articles started hitting on him.”
A few days later, Curne went to a camp at Arkansas. He obviously impressed somebody and the Razorbacks became his first Power Five offer.
That wasn’t Arkansas’ first impression of Curne, though. The Razorbacks, including offensive line coach Cody Kennedy, had eyes on him for a while leading up to that camp.
“Arkansas had come by and they were here last year,” Tribble said. “Coach Kennedy had known about Carius and kind of said that this is a guy we are going to be on.”
Currently, Curne has offers from 11 schools, including six SEC programs – Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee.
According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, Ole Miss is the early favorite to land him, followed by Georgia and SMU.
With Curne’s junior season ongoing, he should be receiving even more attention and could continue to see offers come in over the next few months. His recruiting is wide open and a lot could change.
Scouting Report on Carius Curne
Carius Curne plays both left tackle and defensive tackle. Where he ends up at the next level likely depends on which school he chooses.
“As a recruit he is an interesting one – Arkansas I think likes him at both O- and D-line, Mississippi State likes him at D-line, Ole Miss likes him at O-line,” Marion head coach Lance Clark told SBLive. “Everybody kind of picks their preference and that is really rare for linemen. You see that with wide receivers and defensive backs, but rarely with big guys.”
On defense, he is quick off the line and able to get around blockers fairly easily. His athleticism is a big asset for him on the line and he mixes it with his strength naturally. That combination makes him very tough to block.
On the other side of the ball, he is very strong and bullies the defensive linemen on the opposing teams. He uses his athletic ability to get into a good position to block, which helps him get the advantage. On his film, Curne can be seen pushing defenders multiple yards out of the way and opening up gaping holes, and that was as a sophomore. Curne has a strong, athletic frame and uses his quickness to get a quick advantage at the line.
Once listed at 288, Curne bulked up to 300 pounds over the summer, according to SBLive, and still has time to further grow into what you’d expect from an SEC offensive lineman – if that’s the route he goes.
Even with those strides in the weight room, he knows he’s still a raw prospect and has work to do to reach his full potential.
“I think I am doing pretty good and am liking my progress, but still have a ways to go,” he told SBLive. “I feel like I have really improved on following through as well as being better with my hands and footwork.”
What it Would Mean for Arkansas Football
Carius Curne is a good athlete and seemingly very strong. He could definitely help a team on either side of the line and still has room to grow to reach his full potential.
He is currently a three-star prospect, so he would likely have to fight for a starting position early on at most SEC schools. At places like Georgia, which routinely brings in four- and five-star prospects, playing time would be even harder to come by.
The Arkansas offensive line has been under fire this year from the fans and media. Their ineffectiveness was a big reason for the recent firing of offensive coordinator Dan Enos. With the obvious need for skilled, talented offensive linemen in the coming years, a player like Curne may be able to work his way into a starting role quicker in Fayetteville and give the Razorbacks a boost. So much that depends, of course, on whether the offensive line issues that flared up under Enos persist over the next full-time offensive coordinator, whether that be the current interim Kenny Guiton, whomever else Pittman hires as OC in the offseason or whoever a theoretical new Arkansas football coach would bring in after the 2024 season.
As is the case for many offensive linemen, Curne may be a project that takes time and work, but he has a lot of potential because of his quickness and natural strength. An athletic lineman is very important in the SEC when he could be blocking future NFL stars, especially if he ends up at left tackle, where he would be tasked with defending the quarterback’s blind side.
***
Check out some highlights of Carius Curne from the first five games of his junior season:
***
More coverage of Arkansas football and Arkansas recruiting from BoAS…
