It’s Curtis Samuel’s 21st birthday today.
He’s not focused on Jager Bombs and Budweisers like so many on the eve of that momentous occasion. Samuel is instead focused on trying his best to get back on the football field from a minor hamstring strain. He is constantly studying the playbook and taking “mental reps” while he works with trainers and on his own to get back to 100% healthy. The Ohio State product was brought in to play the slot and a little bit on the outside, but he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help the team out. Does that mean returning punts or kicks when he’s back to full health? The speedy wide receiver doesn’t want to say. “I’m not the coach so I can’t put myself in those shoes.”
After his hamstring felt sore during spring activities, forcing him to sit out multiple activities, Samuel felt fine heading into the first practice in Spartanburg, running routes and catching punts, but the muscle felt sore after the initial practice; rather than risk further injury, he is taking his recovery slowly. The first preseason game is gone, but San Francisco and the regular season is just under a month away so the rookie wide receiver is taking it day by day, “trying to get it back right so (he) can be the player he wants to be.”
While Samuel’s most famous moment of his young NFL career is probably being dropped off by his mother for training camp, Samuel doesn’t sweat it. “It don’t bother me,” Samuel said about the reaction to his chauffeur of choice. “It was great, my mom, she’s always there for me; she’s been there for me through the whole way: little league, high school, college; she’s happy for me, the stuff that I’m taking in my life, she wants to be a part of it.”
The speedy wide receiver is expected to help raise the team’s speed quotient this season along with fellow receiver Damiere Byrd and running back Christian McCaffrey. Speed has been a focus this offseason for the Panthers, and unlike cornerback Teddy Williams, who declared himself the fastest player on the team, Samuel refuses to toot his own horn. “I just go out there and play, and if someone thinks their faster than me, they can think that.”
“In the offseason, we can race.”
