Cullowhee, N.C. – Beginning Sunday evening and continuing throughout the day on Monday, social media including Instagram and Twitter was abuzz with activity – positive activity surrounding a Catamount football player who had fulfilled a promise he had made to his All-American and Hall of Fame father.
 
Curtis Roach, a fifth-year walk-on linebacker and the son of four-time All-Southern Conference and three-time All-America placekicker Kirk Roach, earned a Grant-In-Aid scholarship from WCU head coach Mark Speir. Speir made it official at the end of a socially distanced online Zoom team meeting on Sunday (Aug. 9) evening.
 
"I told the team at the end of that online meeting, 'tomorrow morning, I want everyone to congratulate Curtis Roach – because he just went on scholarship,'" Speir explained. "(Curtis) hasn't been a starter and all, but it was about what he has meant to our locker room, what he's meant to our program away from the field, his heart, and just the person that he is – so unselfish. He's been a big part of developing the culture we're trying to develop right now."
 
Those words were ones that Roach had longed to hear for many hard years as a walk-on.
 
"I immediately started crying," said Roach upon hearing the news from his head coach. "I had dreamed of this moment for the past five or six years and here it is. I was thinking of how I was going to tell my parents before the conversation had even ended."
 
Roach said that hearing the news about the scholarship was an instant relief.
 
"My initial thought when Coach Speir told me about the scholarship was relief. I felt 50-pounds of stress lift off my shoulders," said Roach. "Then I thought about how I couldn't wait to call my parents – this was the moment I had been waiting on and dreaming about for years."
 
Speir asked him to keep the news close to his vest until he could tell the whole team in the online meeting. But Roach had to tell someone – and that someone was his father.
 
"Coach asked me not to tell anyone, but I did ask him if I could tell my parents and he said absolutely. So, I ran into my house and called my dad. When he answered, I just went straight into it and told him that I was on scholarship," Roach recalled. "At that point, we were both crying so much that there weren't many words for the next few minutes."
 
"For me, it was such a thrill and I was just so excited for him," said Kirk Roach. "He had a little chip on his shoulder when he went to WCU; he knew that he could play football and he was determined to earn a scholarship. Just the fulfillment of him doing that, it just means so much. And I'm just so happy for him; I think for him, it validated that he was bringing value to the team and that just means so much."
 
Though it remains the central theme, Curtis Roach receiving the athletic scholarship is only part of the story. Typically, when these "going from walk-on to scholarship player" stories play out, the hype that surrounds the tale is the team's reaction to the news. Most of the time – and this case notwithstanding – the player earning the scholarship is highly popular with his teammates and the announcement prompts celebrations in the team meeting room or mobs in the post-practice huddle when the news is shared.
 
But in the day and age of social distancing, 10-player bubbles, and 25-player outdoor workout groups, Speir wanted to avoid bursting those bubbles with his news, hence the Zoom team meeting. Lost, somewhat, was the players' reaction. But this time, that often-missing part of the story – those reactions of the parents when they learn the news – were able to be shared via social media
 
"It was my idea to surprise my mom," said Curtis. "I had been dreaming of making that phone call home for years and I finally had the opportunity. I just had one request – that my dad records her reaction, and I can't help but watch it back and tear up."
 
Following the initial phone call with his father, Kirk mentioned that his wife, Carrie, was out running errands and that Curtis should call back later. So, the two, father and son, concocted the plan that Curtis would call to share the news to his unsuspecting mother while Kirk played cameraman.
 
"I texted him when his mom got home, so I knew he was calling – and what it was about. So, I just set my phone up to record her response. But, it was Curtis's idea. He knew what it would bring to her," Kirk said.
 
So, the proverbial table was set.
 
"Usually when Curtis calls, he's asking for money. He needs groceries or needs to eat, he needs gas in his vehicle or wants to play a round of golf. So, I thought, okay, that was what he wanted," Carrie said. "But, he asked me to put the phone on speaker as I was sitting next to Kirk. As I was listening, thinking about how creative he would be about what he needs this money for."
 
Then the words from son to mother came – "they just put me on scholarship, baby!"
 
Her initial reaction – "are you kidding me, Curtis?" was followed by four simple words from Curtis – "we did it, momma."
 
"I was truly shocked," Carrie said from hearing the good news. "I'm just thrilled for him. It was a goal for him and I know that he's so proud of himself which makes a momma happy. He's done well; he loves this sport – it's his first love, and we're just thrilled for him to get that acknowledgment from the school and his coaches."
 

I have officially been put on full scholarship. I want to thank all the players and coaches who continued to push me and believe in me when others didn't! A huge thank you to @CoachSpeir and @Catamounts

Momma we did it!! pic.twitter.com/C2W31CPVsJ

— Curtis Roach (@Curtrussroach) August 10, 2020

"To be honest, I had no idea the video was out there," said his mother, Carrie. "I saw it on Instagram, it was just a still photo, I thought. But it wasn't until late Monday afternoon when my husband forwarded me an email that said something about a video of my reaction -- and I was like, 'wait, what? That's out there?' So, I didn't know about it. It was quite a surprise."

"I'm just glad that there was no video on me when Curtis called the first time. No one got to see me crying," joked Kirk.
 
And as for that aforementioned promise alluded to earlier that Curtis fulfilled with Sunday's announcement over Zoom…
 
"As a senior in high school, I had a few Division I schools considering me and the idea of a scholarship was floating around," the younger Roach explained.
 
But none came.
 
Instead, he chose a school and a program with which he was familiar. The one in which his father had excelled. The one in where the number his father wore on his jersey hangs proudly, honored above the corner of the south end zone at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
 
"To be honest, I wasn't sure that I wanted him to go to Western Carolina" admitted Kirk. "I wouldn't have wanted to play with my dad's jersey hanging up there on the wall. But he earned this scholarship by being Curtis Roach – not being Kirk's son, and that's what's really cool."
 
But Curtis was Cullowhee bound in the fall of 2016 as he and the family paid his way, out of state to chase a football dream and earn a degree from WCU.
 

"Once I chose to walk-on at Western Carolina, during my freshman year, my parents and I were talking about school and football. I told them, 'Don't worry, guys, I am going to earn a scholarship here.' It took me longer than I wanted to earn one, but man, it was worth the wait," Curtis said.
 
His father, still audibly beaming with pride through the telephone during the interview on Monday echoed his son's promissory story.
 
"Curtis told me during his freshman season that he would earn a scholarship," said Kirk. "It's indeed an amazing story for the Roach's."
 
"I told both him and his dad (Kirk) that I feel this will mean even more to him 10 years down the road than it does now just because it wasn't given to him based off his potential in his high school, but he came here and he earned it. And that's a great feeling when you didn't get it after high school but you came in here and earned it," Speir said.
 
Curtis Roach joins a list of former walk-on football players that earned scholarships in the latter years of their playing careers in Cullowhee. Last year, it was another WCU legacy that received the joyous news during the team's preseason camp. Daquan Patten – son of former WCU wide receiver and NFL Super Bowl Champion David Patten – earned the grant-in-aid before the 2019 season.
 
And wouldn't you know, Patten and Roach, are among the best of friends that began as freshman roommates back in 2016. Roach experienced first-hand the joy of seeing a teammate rewarded for their work prior to last season.
 
"Knowing about the scholarship in advance of Coach Speir telling the team and keeping that secret from both my current roommate, Caleb Ferguson, and my former roommate and best friend, Daquan Patten, was very tough," Curtis said. "The next day when I saw Daquan, we both looked at each other and just started screaming, 'we did it!' – just like we promised each other as freshmen in Harrill Residence Hall."
 
Patten said that when he saw his friend, he didn't know what to say – but filled with emotion and joy, he couldn't help but dance around on the sidewalk.
 
"For me to have gone through that last year, knowing how hard that I had to work to earn a scholarship, I felt his success," said Patten. "Seeing him work and seeing him finally get what he has worked so hard for, it brought so much joy to my heart. He's a great guy, one of my best friends on the team. I came in with him our freshman year, we lived together. So, it's overwhelming to see somebody that you love to do something great for themselves and being able to leave an impact somewhere that they love to be."
 
That joy was spread through much of the team and the Catamount coaching staff through Monday's workouts, too. Roach said that throughout the day, his teammates were congratulating him – and even the coaches during the morning workout would spell him during reps, referring to it as "his day" on the practice field.
 
Back home in Georgia, the news had been met with a few tears of joy. And though his mother didn't exactly enjoy becoming a viral social media sensation with her reaction, the pride the Roach parents expressed remains very evident.
 
"I admire him," his father said of Curtis having gone to college as a walk-on football player. "To be a walk-on for four years, it's tough. When you're a walk-on, you've got to perform, create a good image, and you've got to create exposure for yourself – those are three tough things to do when you're not getting reps, you're only seen on the scout team. The good part is that he loves football. He loves working out, he loves the locker room, he loves his teammates – he loves everything about it."
 
Entering his fifth year on the squad that includes both a redshirt and a medical redshirt season after tearing a hamstring, Roach has gone through a lot as a walk-on player. He's seen five different position coaches, three defensive coordinators, and has worked with two different special teams coaches in finding a way onto the field. Statistically speaking, he is coming off his best year yet. He was credited with 18 total tackles in 12 games played in 2019, while also rushing twice last season as the holder on placekicks – carrying one fake field goal 11 yards for a first down and nearly scoring on a two-point try.
 
But despite any highlights on the field, this preseason accolade seemed to put everything into perspective.
 
"This whole event has been one of the best weeks of my life. I've overcome so much adversity and this makes it all worth it. Football has changed my life for the better," concluded Roach. "Cullowhee is a very magical place and I am so thankful that I made the decision to play for the purple and gold. Adversity has brought out the best in me and without it, I don' think I would be a scholarship Division I student-athlete."
 
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