Former Ohio State defensive end Caden Curry came to Columbus out of Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Ind., in the 2022 recruiting class.
His high school being less than a 30-minute drive away from Lucas Oil Stadium, Curry grew up a fan of the Indianapolis Colts.
Now after four years of being a Buckeye, Curry was drafted in the sixth round with the 214th overall pick of the NFL draft by the Colts and is headed back to play for his hometown team. Getting to wear the Colts blue and white is a dream come true for Curry.
“It’s something I always dreamed of being a little kid,” he said in a recent press conference at rookie minicamp. “Coming back to the state and just being able to be one of the guys I watched growing up.”
Not only is he going back home to play for the team he rooted for as a kid, but Curry is reuniting with a former Buckeye teammate as well.
JT Tuimoloau, now going by Jayhlan, was picked by the Colts in the 2025 draft in the second round, and Curry will be able to join him in the defensive line room in the pros now after spending three years with him in Columbus.
“JT was actually my big brother at Ohio State. When I was freshman, he took me under his wing,” Curry said. “He was just somebody who I looked up to. Now, to have this in the pro level is so crazy and so surreal. He’s such a great guy to look up to because he does everything the right way.”
In his first season as a pro, Tuimoloau got into 13 games and finished with 17 total tackles, one tackle for loss and six quarterback hits.
He was watching the draft hoping that the Colts would take Curry at some point.
“I kept telling him, ‘I got a feeling we’re going to get you,’ ” Tuimoloau said in a recent press conference. “I’m just truly excited to have another Buckeye with us. We’re locker room buddies. It’s like we never left.”
Now Curry hopes to be able to make some sort of impact in his first year in the NFL. He had just one year with Ohio State in which he was able to prove himself as a starter, and he did so last season.
He finished the year with 66 total tackles, which included a team-leading 16.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. He spent three years before that behind Tuimoloau and others on the edge, earning a backup role in the 2024 national championship season and collecting 22 tackles, 3.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks.
As a sixth-round selection, Curry may have to compete for a rotational role with the Colts in his first season, but working as a backup is not foreign to him. But he’s willing to do what it takes to earn a role.
“Wherever they put me or if they want me to try something, I’m going to try it,” he said. “I’m always competitive and have that mindset. I want to do the best that I can and I try to work every day to be the best version of myself. Whenever they give me the opportunity, I’m going to make the most of it.”
And it means even more to him since he will be able to do that near home.
“I’m happy to be back home,” he said. “It’s a surreal moment to play for your hometown team.”
