Brendan Bolan: How would you define yourself as a football player?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Competitive, smart, intuitive, and a physical guy.
Brendan Bolan: How would those around you describe you? As a person and teammate?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Accountable.
Brendan Bolan: Tell me a little bit about your college football journey. What made the roadmap go from saddleback to west texas A&m to Adams State.
Abrae Booker-Currin: Navigating all of the covid restrictions that all came and weren’t exactly expected. Once I left saddleback that’s when Covid hit. I graduated early, so I came home and two weeks later the shutdown happened. So from there, it was about navigating whatever opportunity is available to me.
Brendan Bolan: Is there a coach or player that has made a significant impact on your career so far?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Early on, one of my closer(est) friends was Marcell Ateman, he’s on the Raiders now. We spent every summer and every minute we had doing extra work. That impacted me a lot because he was three years my elder. It has always work(ed) for me, as fun as it was. Coaches(ing) wise, staring highschool on I had Bob Dobson as my head coach. One of the winningest coaches in California high school football. From there I’ve had positional coaches who were really influential. Specifically, Adams State, where I had Perkins as my direct coach. My head coach played safety as Mizzou, that’s insight you can’t really buy.
Brendan Bolan: What does it mean to you to be a football player? Is it more than a title?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Yes, it’s not just a title or a job. It’s a responsibility to show you can be more than just a guy with a jersey and pads on.
Brendan Bolan: I saw you ran a blazing 4.29 and a 4.24. 40 yards dash. Is speed training something you really value and put extra work into or are you just naturally blazing fast?
Abrae Booker-Currin: I took to track really early on, but it wasn’t until I got a little older till I was able to find coaches who could help me fine tune what I was already kind of gifted with.
Brendan Bolan: What was your reaction to seeing your time? Were you surprised? I don’t know many people that expect to run in the 4.2s.
Abrae Booker-Currin: It was a little bit of both. It was a surprise, but an expectation that I had to be elitely fast. It was kind of just confirmation of the work I put in.
Brendan Bolan: You play the game with great speed and physicality, You aren’t scared to lay the boom. How do you stay so disciplined while trying to constantly be a playmaker?
Abrae Booker-Currin: It’s something I’ve embraced from the guys I grew up watching. I’m a little old school in that way. Guys that are legends in my mind, guys like Sean Taylor and Ed Reed. I try to become not just a physical player, but by taking it into the film room and studying the game, not just playing.
Brendan Bolan: How can you be valuable to an NFL roster?
Abrae Booker-Currin: I’m a guy that’s always in the right place, and can always be there to fulfill whatever task needs to be filled. Filling the gaps within a team. My entire career is based on being adaptable. Taking on those roles that people normally stray away from.
Brendan Bolan: What drives you to wake up and be the best version of yourself everyday?
Abrae Booker-Currin: I would like to be that story. I want to be the inspiration in the same way I had growing up.
Brendan Bolan: What is your favorite type of coverage to run?
Abrae Booker-Currin: I like to come down. Where I have more freedom. Or even a cover two, where everyone’s got a certain area your supposed to cover and just read what the offense is doing.
Brendan Bolan: What is the hardest part about being a safety/defensive back?
Abrae Booker-Currin: At safety, you’re not only supposed to be the speed of the defense but the brunt of the defense. You have to be able to bang with the big bodies but also cover the fast guys.
Brendan Bolan: What are you working on improving in your game?
Abrae Booker-Currin: I try to get smarter every day. I try to get more reactive mentally not just physically.
Brendan Bolan: Is there a player you try to model your game after or study?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Brandon Carr
Brendan Bolan: What has been your best in-game memory?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Winning the State Championship in high school. Playing in Anaheim Stadium and winning a ring there was monumental.
Brendan Bolan: What player or players at West Texas A&M or Adams state do you think are ready to take off or break out in the 2022 season?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Adams State specifically, the quarterback we had was a transfer from UNLV. He dealt with a few knee injuries last season but was always one of our more elite players. Not just throwing the ball, but moving the ball with his feet. He’s smarter than a lot of people gave him respect for.
Brendan Bolan: What are your ultimate goals in life?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Being able to impact the most amount of people I can. Whether that’s on the field or off the field.
Brendan Bolan: What hobbies do you have outside of football?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Woodworking is one of my favorite things. I took to creating a vision in my head and having it come to fruition.
Brendan Bolan: Do or have you played any other sports outside of football?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Multiple sports. Track, baseball, basketball. Soccer wasn’t my favorite, but it was great cardio for me.
Brendan Bolan: What makes a great leader in your opinion?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Someone that is not afraid to take on challenges.
Brendan Bolan: What is your favorite pre-game song?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Me Against the World, by Tupac.
Brendan Bolan: If you could say one thing to the world, what would you say?
Abrae Booker-Currin: The journey is never over. It’s not about the destination. It’s what you get in the process of trying to get there. There’s always more than what’s on the surface, and it’s all about perspective.
Brendan Bolan: Is there a piece of advice you have received on your football journey that has changed your life?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Don’t take it too seriously. Love the game, and treat it as such. At the end of the day, it is a game. There’s always more to life.
Brendan Bolan: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Abrae Booker-Currin: Look out for me in this upcoming draft.
