He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, earning consensus All-American honors in 1996.
As a senior in 1996, Curtis led the nation's top-ranked defense by setting the Mountaineers' single-season record for quarterback sacks with 16.5, and also made 11 tackles for a loss.
Curtis was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, and was named the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Curtis in the sixth round (176th pick overall) of the 1997 NFL draft.
[1] During his six-season pro career, he played in 70 regular season games, started 15 of them, and compiled 87 tackles.