Junior RB Jamal Currie-Elliott has flair for dramatics

Durham (N.C.) Hillside junior running back Jamal Currie-Elliott couldn’t have scripted a better ending in his second game back at his old high school.

Hillside had a 34-22 lead with 2:10 left at Raleigh (N.C.) Cardinal Gibbons, only to see it squandered after the Crusaders scored with 1:23 remaining, then recovered the onside kick and added another touchdown with 14.5 seconds left.

The explosive Currie-Elliott asked to be put on the kick return unit and caught the kickoff at his own 1-yard line near the left corner. He raced by two tacklers around the 16-yard line, zipped by another and picked up a key block from impressive sophomore teammate David Madzivanykia.

The last 55 yards was a footrace, and Currie-Elliott wasn’t going to lose that. The 99-yard kickoff return with 0.4 seconds left helped Hillside win 41-35 and improve to 6-1 overall.

“It just feels so good,” said Currie-Elliott, 17. “I’m back home with my team. ... I’m just happy to be back home.

“I just knew it [on the kick return]. I got a great block from one of my teammates, saw the hole and took it to the house.”

Currie-Elliott finished the game with 298 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns. He had previously scored from seven yards out, ripped off a 52-yard score and took a screen pass for a 47-yard TD on his lone reception. Currie-Elliott rushed 24 times for 152 yards and two scores in his second game after making the move back from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, where he spent some time earlier this fall. He was glad he wasn’t anywhere else after that dramatic win.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Currie-Elliott said he runs a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, and he showed that game-changing speed on his three long touchdowns, which all occurred after halftime.

“I went into that locker room and was determined,” Currie-Elliott said. “It’s just unbelievable.”

NC State freshman wide receiver Daeshawn Stephens, also a Hillside product, was able to watch his cousin perform his magic. NCSU head coach Dave Doeren also was in attendance for the Rivals.com four-star prospect, who is ranked No. 173 overall in the country in the class of 2018.

Currie-Elliott has attended a couple of NC State games since returning back to the area. He said if he had a top five, the Wolfpack would be in it.

“I’m looking for somewhere close to home, so NC State is a good program,” he said. “They have a new offensive coordinator [Eli Drinkwitz], and they could fit me perfectly.

“I see how they use their running backs and put them on routes. I’m a complete back, and I like how they could move me around.”

NCSU running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Des Kitchings has been recruiting Currie-Elliott since his freshman year. The Wolfpack offered him last spring.

“Coach Kitchings is a great coach,” Currie-Elliott said. “He took his time in pulling the trigger, and I like that because he wanted to wait.”

Hillside featured current Oklahoma freshman running back Abdul Adams last year, with Currie-Elliott playing in a wing back role. Now, Currie-Elliott is back in his familiar I-back spot.

“It feels good because that is the position that I’m getting recruited at,” he said. “I will probably play the slot in college or both spots. I’m getting the carries that I can get in high school and just enjoy it.”

Currie-Elliott’s most recent offer was LSU, and he’d like to see the Tigers play, along with taking unofficial visits to South Carolina and Mississippi. He thinks Oregon is getting close to offering.

“I’d like to do some traveling, but I’ll be at every NC State home game this season,” Currie-Elliott said.