The way Curtis Dukes sees it, he’s got one more year to have fun. After that, he’s all business.
Dukes, who recently completed his junior year as an athlete at Indian River, made a verbal commitment on Tuesday to play college football for Penn State University in 2009.
Penn State’s program is one of the most prestigious in the history of college football, but Dukes said he won’t give up his other sports — basketball and track and field — to focus on preparing to join the Nittany Lions on the gridiron.
“They told me just to enjoy my senior year,” Dukes said Wednesday night.
According to Indian River football coach Cory Marsell, Dukes also received interest from Syracuse University, the University of Pittsburgh and the University at Buffalo.
“He was equally interested in all of them, but Penn State seemed to stand out above the rest,” Marsell said.
Marsell said Dukes, a running back, totaled 900 yards on the ground last season, averaging more than 14 yards per carry. Dukes, with a speedy, 6-foot-2-inch, 235-pound frame, is also a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield.
“He had like 260-some yards receiving,” Marsell said.
Marsell, who has spent two seasons as the Warriors’ head coach after eight years as an assistant, said Dukes is the only Indian River player in memory to commit to a team at college football’s highest level.
Dukes and Marsell were together at a football camp at Penn State last week, and Dukes said he likes what he’s seen from legendary Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno.
“We met and talked,” Dukes said. “He’s a real down-to-earth guy. We hit it off pretty good.”
Dukes, though, said he received no assurances regarding playing time.
“They don’t promise me those types of things,” Dukes said. “I expect to earn my way onto the field.”
Dukes was a Times All-North second-team selection last season. After his sophomore season at Indian River, during which he rushed for 1,146 yards and 16 touchdowns, he was an All-North first-team pick.
Dukes, who won Section 3 Class A track titles in the 100 and 200 meters this spring, said he’ll head to State College, Pa., with two priorities in mind: football and education. He plans to take courses in African-American studies and criminal justice.
He will not be allowed to sign a letter of intent for Penn State until February.
The Nittany Lions will renew their rivalry with Syracuse this season when they visit the Carrier Dome on Sept. 13. It will be the teams’ first matchup since 1990. On Sept. 12, 2009, Syracuse will travel to Penn State’s Beaver Stadium.
