Meet Victor Curne, a Big Texan Who Likes to See and Be Seen

Victor Curne sits down in front of a team room full of media members over the weekend, overwhelming the chair, and offers a friendly greeting as a form of introduction.

He's entering his fourth season in the University of Washington football program, and second as a starter, but because of athletic-department interview protocols, this is the first time either side has interacted.

Big Vic, the Huskies' massive starting right tackle from Houston, is very Texan with his soft drawl. He's funny, too.

Wearing glasses for this post-practice, question-and-answer period, Curne was asked if the field is a blur to him when he plays, presumably without them.

"Nah, I'm pretty good without my glasses," he said, adjusting his spectacles to make his point. "I just use these, I mean, my mom said I'd probably hear better if I wear my glasses."

In fact, he hears everything his coaches tell him. As a 6-foot-3, 315-pound sophomore, Curne has a redshirt season and 11 games of action behind him. In 2020, he was named All-Pac-12 honorable mention once people saw what he could do.

As the Huskies continually scour the Lone Star state for talent, Curne wasn't the least bit hesitant to move a couple of time zones away. He just had to do his homework after offensive-line coach Scott Huff began recruiting him.

"I was pretty oblivious to the point of West Coast ball, honestly, besides, you know, like UCLA and like USC," he said. "So when Huff reached out to me, I was pretty ignorant to the fact, but he kind of introduced me to hard-nosed football out here, out West. I looked them up and looked at the Alabama game and did my research. I looked at the history of U-Dub football, a real physical team always, through and through."

He also spoke with fellow Texans turned Huskies in wide receiver Aaron Fuller and defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike and learned enough that he became Seattle bound.

Curne got his first real taste of college football at the end of the 2019 season, playing most of the Las Vegas Bowl and dominating the Boise State defenders opposite him in the UW's 38-7 beatdown.

While he's not the tallest or the heaviest Husky offensive lineman, he just might be the most athletic. He moves real well for his size. His mobility enables him to cause a lot of problems for people.

Well, not last April. He missed most of spring practice with an ankle injury. For a couple of weeks, he was a lonely figure at each Husky workout. He rode an exercise bike. He stretched off to the side. He watched everyone else play.

Curne seems to be back in the flow of things now with the Montana opener less than three weeks away.

"It's been pretty good, getting my feet under, getting a new sense of urgency, I would say, coming into this fall camp," he said. "[It's] just getting used to the scheme, getting used back to playing, getting my feet under me, probably playing more physical and getting more confidence under me."

While recent UW practices have been played in warm weather, he almost scoffed at the idea it might be uncomfortable. After all, he comes from Texas humidity. He's got no complaints. Oh, maybe just one.

"The no AC thing is getting to me," Curne wisecracked, alluding to air conditioning not being a Northwest staple. "But other than that, I'm fine."

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