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Patience Pays Off For Steele

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By ADAM ADKINS

aadkins@tampatrib.com

Published: December 19, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Curtis Steele has always been a get-up-and-go kind of guy, so exuding patience was never really his forte. But, as the Memphis junior running back learned this season, change can be for the better.

Steele had always been accustomed to using his tremendous speed to excel at every level of football in which he competed, but it wasn't until he heeded the advice of Memphis coaches to slow things down a bit and let things develop out in front of him that he blossomed into a game-changer for the Tigers, who face USF in Saturday's magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field.

"It was definitely a change, to learn how to take things slow," Steele said. "Throughout the season, though, I started to learn how to be patient, and things started opening up for me."

This season Steele became just the fourth Memphis rusher in program history to top the 1,000-yard plateau, and the first to do so since former All-American and current Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams topped the mark in three consecutive seasons from 2003-05. Steele's 1,175 rushing yards were the third-most in Conference USA this season, and the production helped the junior-college transfer earn second-team all-conference honors as well as the C-USA Newcomer of the Year award.

"He's a really talented back," Memphis coach Tommy West said. "He's got great vision, which you don't teach. He's got it. I expected him to do this, and he's been great with ball security the whole year, so he's really learned. I think Curtis has improved as this season has gone along, and he'll tell you that."

The improvement began when Steele began buying into what running backs coach James Joseph was selling, that slowing things down a bit would be beneficial. Steele said that was around the fourth game of the season, after he endured a tough start to the season (totaling a combined 165 rushing yards in the first three games) while trying to find success in the same manner he'd been accustomed to throughout his career.

"It was very frustrating because I was trying to outrun the defense and I was just getting caught," Steele said.

However, since the transition in his approach, Steele has topped the 100-yard mark in six of Memphis' nine games, including a 203-yard effort Sept. 27 in a win against Arkansas State and a 178-yard effort Oct. 25 in a win against Southern Miss.

"That's when things just started taking off for me," Steele said. "I was more like myself, but on a better level though."

Reporter Adam Adkins can be reached at (813) 259-7616.

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