NFL Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: Curtis Yates, DB, Union College
NFL Draft Diamonds has been bringing our readers Prospect Interviews over the past 3 years and this year we mixed up the questions and added some fun questions for our readers. Our questions are designed to give our readers a little more insight on the player. We hope to bring you more than 350 interviews of NFL Draft Prospects this season. You will be able to track them all on the front page of our website in the banner to the right. Now let’s meet the prospect!!!!
What is your name?
Curtis Yates
What is your Height/Weight?
6’2 198
What is your position?
Safety
Where do you play college football?
Union College
Football is about giving back, what is the coolest thing you have done off the field?
I volunteered to coach Knox central little league football this summer for the defensive backs and wide receivers.
What was the hardest college class you ever had to take?
Business Statistics
Where are you from?
Lexington, KY
Who is your role model, and why?
My oldest brother Maurice. He had to help take care of all 7 of my mother’s children as a teenager back then and be a father at the same time. Just shows how great of a person he is.
Did you play any other sports growing up?
Basketball
Did you play any other positions in football?
Wide Receiver, Cornerback, Running Back, Kicker
At your position, what separates you from others?
My on-going energy, I get better and better as the game go by. I go hard every play.
When you are breaking down film, what do you look for?
O-line run/pass reads, If QB looks off or not, QB favorite wide receiver to throw to, and the different routes ran by receivers.
Who was the toughest player you ever faced?
Terrence Cobb-RB that went from Cumberland to the NFL
If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be and why?
Reggie Nelson because he gets better as the game goes on and he plays with full effort and energy and is very athletic!
What was the biggest obstacle in your life you had to overcome, and how did you overcome it?
Leaving my family to go college and I overcame that by just focusing on school and football while making sure they knew what I was doing this for.
Do you have any pre-game rituals?
Listen to Meek Mill freestyles, watch Tyrann Mathieu highlights.
What is your biggest strength?
Athleticism
What is your biggest weakness?
Weight
If I were a GM and gave you a second to sell yourself, what would you say?
I work hard, fast learner and great listener, I will do anything to help the team win.
Who was your favorite player and/or NFL team growing up?
Ed Reed
If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would you choose?
Tyrann Mathieu, My Granny, Lil Wayne
What will be the first big item you buy once you are in the NFL?
My mother a house
Rapid Answers
- Who is Better: Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?
- Who will win the Super Bowl this year? Cardinals
- Who is Better: Barry Sanders or Emmitt Smith?
- Who will win MVP in NFL? Matt Ryan
- Who is Better: Deion Sanders or Richard Sherman?
NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com