Making their mark: 33 LDS players are on NFL rosters

Kevin Curtis loves football. He has an intense belief in himself. And at every level, from high school to junior college to Division I football, he's fought to stay on the field.

But even he's surprised to still be there.

"I feel very fortunate that I'm still able to do this and do it for a living," Curtis said. "Sometimes I can't believe I'm still playing football."

This week, Curtis will begin his seventh year as a professional when his Philadelphia Eagles open the regular season at Carolina. The South Jordan, Utah, native is one of the 33 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that Mormon Times counts on 2009 opening-day NFL rosters, 13 of whom are starters. There are also 15 returned Mormon missionaries in the group, including Curtis, Denver's Spencer Larsen and Green Bay's Brady Poppinga.

And it being early September, there are also plenty of optimists.

Curtis fits into all of those categories, having served a mission in London before becoming the all-time leading receiver at Utah State University. He was a third-round draft pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2003.

A Bingham High School graduate, Curtis took what he called the "long road" to NFL success. It involved playing at Snow College, walking on at Utah State without a scholarship and maintaining confidence no matter what level he was playing at.

"I never really told myself I couldn't," he said. "I always stayed open."

__IMAGE1__Curtis says he was a smaller player who had to scrap to prove himself, but he's definitely arrived. After signing as a free agent with Philadelphia in 2007, Curtis had a career-best 1,110-yard receiving season, scoring six touchdowns and entrenching himself as a starting NFL wideout.

"It's been a nice little ride," he said.

Larsen is only in his second NFL season, but his rookie year was certainly high-impact.

A sixth-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos out of the University of Arizona in 2008, Larsen distinguished himself early with some jarring collisions on special teams and later made history by becoming the first Bronco player to start on offense and defense in the same game.

__IMAGE2__Larsen, who served his mission in Chile, was a linebacker in college but filled in at fullback for Denver in 2008. He says he's still "dabbling" in all three phases of the game but is listed as a backup linebacker on the team's depth chart.

Larsen is more at ease this year compared to his rookie season, when poor plays and bad games magnified fears of getting cut.

"It was do or die for me every day last year, and emotionally it was a lot of high ups and low downs," Larsen said. "This year it's been a lot more steady."

Poppinga, in his fifth season as a member of the Green Bay Packers, is also feeling more settled. The former BYU linebacker is enthused about the Packers' more aggressive defensive scheme, which "really plays to my attributes and talents," he said.

Poppinga, known for his intensity while with the Cougars, has returned to a "hybrid" defensive end/linebacker role where he'll blitz more and cover less. He's worked his way back into the Green Bay starting lineup and recently expressed the type of enthusiasm typical of early September.

"We're looking to obviously make a run for it," said Poppinga, who served a Mormon mission in Uruguay. "We have a new defense with a new attitude."

Curtis, whose team came up a game short of the Super Bowl last season, says the Eagles are "as talented as a team that I've ever been on."

"We've got to put it together on the field, but we've got the pieces to have a good year," said Curtis, who had 122 yards receiving in Philadelphia's 32-25 loss to Arizona in the NFC championship game.

Larsen is simply hungry for victories. The Gilbert, Ariz., native hasn't experienced a winning season since his junior year of high school.

"I just really want to be successful as a team," he said. "All my goals are based on being successful as a team. I just want to win games. It's a lot more fun when we're winning."

The church is well-represented in the NFL with players like Curtis, Larsen and Poppinga, but Mormons are still a minority in the country's most popular professional sports league.

For Curtis, Philadelphia has been somewhat different than his stint with the Rams. The Eagles' head coach, Andy Reid, whom Curtis called "one of the best coaches I've ever played for," is also Mormon. Several former BYU players have been members of the team in the past.

"It was something I wasn't really used to," Curtis said. "It's cool to have someone there that you share the same beliefs and thoughts with."

Curtis says that when teammates spend as much time together as they do on NFL squads, the "big topics" of religion and politics inevitably come up. Curtis has had several opportunities to "share different takes" with teammates.

Poppinga says it's the uniqueness of the LDS lifestyle that draws curiosity.

"It's a very intriguing lifestyle to be a member of the faith," he said. "There are always opportunities that arise to talk about your faith."


E-mail: ashill@desnews.com