Dukes takes next step

PHILADELPHIA — Five years ago Curtis Dukes's mother, Corvette, didn't want him playing football.

"I always wanted him to be a basketball player," she said. "Coach begged me and begged me (to let him play football), and I said, 'No.' But then I saw one of his games, and I knew then he was going to be a football player."

She's happy they convinced her, now.

Dukes signed his letter of intent to play at Penn State in front of a filled auditorium Tuesday at Indian River High School.

"I didn't expect the whole school here," he said. "It was a good feeling to have, and I look forward to whatever I have to do."

Dukes made his verbal commitment to Penn State back on July 1, but Penn State wasn't allowed to sign its recruits until Wednesday. Representatives from the school couldn't make it due to bad weather last week, according to Dukes. He did sign the official letter last week via fax. Indian River, and Dukes, waited until Tuesday to make it public.

Dukes said the decision to go with the Nittany Lions was easy.

"It's not just only football, but the atmosphere and the social life," he said of his recruiting visit. "I liked every bit of it."

Dukes is the first Indian River athlete to get a full Division I scholarship, and leaves a trail of impressive statistics behind.

"He had over 1,000 yards rushing two out of three years," Indian River football coach Cory Marsell said. "Curtis definitely showed what type of athlete he was."

He averaged better than 12 yards per carry his entire career with the Warriors, scoring 16 touchdowns his senior year. His freshman season was the only one in which he didn't score more than 15 touchdowns.

Dukes was twice named to the Times All-North first team as a running back and was the Times 2008 Sports Performer of the Year.

Scout.com wrote, "Curtis Dukes brings a very rare blend of size and speed to the table at the running back position." The top recruiting Web site ranked Dukes 32nd nationwide among running backs and listed him as a three-star recruit.

All that after his mom was talked into letting him play football.

Marsell had a big role in Dukes's development. He's seen him develop from a player who used football to stay in shape for basketball to an athlete with the potential to play football at the highest level.

"One of the reasons this is so exciting is because of the hard work he's put in," Marsell said. "He's a very talented individual, and he knew that, but he wasn't going to sit down and just be happy with being an all-star. He had a goal he set for himself, and he went out and got it."

Dukes had to send out his own recruiting tapes two years ago to get noticed. Almost immediately, coaches began calling. Penn State, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Temple took the biggest interest. Ultimately, Dukes went with Penn State because of the potential the team saw in him. Marsell said he was told by recruiters that Dukes could be a first-round pick in the NFL.

"We're going to miss him an enormous amount," Marsell said. "If I know Curtis, he's going to put the work into it, and then they're going to figure out what's best for him and how he is going to fit into their program. I don't need to worry about work because he'll be there doing it."