For Former Cal OT Jake Curhan Versatility is the Key in NFL

Former Cal offensive tackle Jake Curhan is not sure whether he’ll be a guard or tackle in the NFL, but he is certain he needs to be proficient at both.

Versatility is critical for a free-agent signee like Curhan, who is trying to make the Seattle Seahawks’ roster. He need only look at the example set by former Cal teammate Patrick Mekari to see why.

Mekari spent most of his Cal career at offensive tackle, with a few games at guard. But since signing with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2019, he has started 13 games, all at center, a position he did not play at all in college. Versatility was the key.

---Click here for a story and video of Curhan discussing his reported heart issue.---

The pre-draft talk was that the 6-foot-6, 330-pound Curhan, whose 40 Cal starts were all at tackle, would probably be switched to guard in the NFL. But the Seahawks are still sorting that out.

“A lot of teams saw me as a tackle first who has the flexibility to play guard,” Curhan said this week in the video above. "At the Senior Bowl they threw me in there [at guard] just to see how I would do on the inside and if I could do it.

“So far at mini-camp I’ve been playing mostly guard. The plan was to start me mostly at tackle, but I think it’s just going to be a mix of both for the most part.”

Being able to play more than one position could be the difference between making an opening-day roster and being released. So Curhan is all for the dual activity.

“Whatever I can do to help the team and maximize my opportunity,” he said. “I’m not as good at [guard] as I am at tackle, but I also have 40 games of experience there [at tackle].”

Guard and tackle are very different positions, although those on the outside might not realize it.

“Everything happens a lot faster on the inside [at guard],” Curhan said. “The transition in the run game I think has been easier because it’s similar stuff, but in the pass game I’m not the most athletically gifted individual in the world, but I was able to be successful at tackle because I understood the angles, I understood the plays and what I had to do there. It’s learning a whole new system of whether it’s angles in the pass game or what to expect given different looks. Once I see more I’ll be able to start picking that stuff up.”

Curhan went through a three-day minicamp for rookies over the weekend to begin the process, and he already has something in common with Seattle’s head coach. Pete Caroll and Curhan went to the same high school, Redwood High School in Larkspur, Calif.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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