El Dorado assistant Curtis stable after burn accident

Former University of Arkansas running back and current El Dorado High School assistant football coach De'Anthony Curtis is in stable condition after he suffered burns in a grilling accident at his home in El Dorado last week.

The grilling accident occurred May 9, one day after Curtis turned 30.

Curtis, who starred at Camden Fairview High School before playing at Arkansas, is currently in the burn unit at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, El Dorado Coach Steven Jones told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Saturday.

Jones said Curtis is expected to make a full recovery.

"He's in good spirits," Jones said. "We're praying for him and his family."

A GoFundMe account at the website gofundme.com/f/coach-deanthony-curtis has been set up to support Curtis, his wife Ashlee and his two daughters Kamdyn and Karsyn. The account had raised more than $13,000 as of Saturday afternoon and was set up by Sarah VanHook Hatley of El Dorado.

"Our community has shown a lot of support for him," Jones said. "It's great to see."

In February 2008, Curtis was one of four Camden Fairview players in Bobby Petrino's first signing class at Arkansas, including quarterback Jim Youngblood and defensive linemen Lavunce Askew and Brian Christopher. Petrino's first class also included pass catchers Jarius Wright, Greg Childs and Chris Gragg of Warren; receiver Joe Adams of Central Arkansas Christian; quarterback Tyler Wilson of Greenwood; and running back Dennis Johnson of Texarkana.

Curtis was at Arkansas for four seasons from 2008-2011, where he played running back, wide receiver and cornerback. He finished with 198 rushing yards, 168 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns for the Razorbacks.

After graduating from Arkansas, Curtis signed as a rookie free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and played in three preseason games. He went on to become an assistant coach at Camden Fairview and Lyon College before arriving in El Dorado.

Curtis has coached at El Dorado since 2017. He coached linebackers for two seasons before moving to running backs coach in 2019, which was Jones' first season at the school. Curtis also is a physical education teacher at El Dorado.

Jones said Curtis has been beneficial to El Dorado's program.

"He's made an incredible impact on everybody," Jones said. "He's one of the best I've seen at working with kids."

Sports on 05/17/2020

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