Elusive, breakaway speed, great vision. These are some of the things you would hear from scouts in 2007 when describing the skill-set of Sacramento State senior running back Curtis Shaw when he was in high school.

Today, you might hear those same scouts murmur something like fragile, busted, or injury prone.

There is no doubt about it. Shaw has had a “string of bad luck” as the running backs coach Aaron Ingram would say. 

With the concussion in 2010 knocking him out of nine games and the knee injury this season, which caused him to miss five games so far, Shaw has had little time to show what he can do.

Shaw graduated in 2007 from Lincoln High School in Stockton. During his junior year, Shaw rushed for 1,653 yards and 21 touchdowns. Senior year, Shaw duplicated those numbers and ran for 1,633 yards and 24 touchdowns. He ran for 200 yards in three games his senior year and destroyed Golden Valley High School in the first round of playoffs by rushing for 245 yards and five touchdowns.

Coming out of high school, Shaw was rated the No. 39 running back recruit in the country by scout.com and the No. 4 running back recruit in California by rivals.com.

Shaw received interest from many big-name colleges such as the University of Oregon, UC Berkeley and Fresno State University, but he had no interest in them. On Dec. 10, 2006, Shaw committed to join the University of Washington Huskies.

In 2007, Shaw debuted with the Huskies as a running back. He was one of seven true freshmen who logged playing time during the season. He totaled only seven carries for 12 yards on the season and was switched to wide receiver toward the end of the season when he caught five balls for 47 yards. Shaw also spent some time on special teams as a kick returner.

The following year was tough for Shaw. He redshirted after leaving the Huskies during fall camp for family reasons. He kept in touch with coaches throughout his leave and returned back to the Huskies in spring 2009 as a running back once again.

In 10 games, Shaw was only able to run the ball eight times for 32 yards as a backup-running back. He also stayed involved with the return game, but was ineffective for the most part in the immediate offense.

After a rough three-year stretch between the Huskies and family problems, Shaw decided he needed a change.

“Washington wasn’t a fit program for me. It didn’t work out how the coaching staff planned it and how I planned it,” Shaw said. “We didn’t meet each other’s needs, it was time to move on.”

In 2010, Shaw transferred to Sac State to become a Hornet. The team was excited to add him to the group.

“Anytime you can get a kid who played in the Pac-10, it helps,” Ingram said. “Curtis has the ability to have some breakaway speed at any given time.”

Shaw entered the 2010 season as the lead running back for the Hornets. In the first game against Stanford, Shaw carried the ball 12 times for 30 yards and had one touchdown.

In the next game against Western Oregon, Shaw went down in the second quarter with a concussion knocking him out for the rest of the season.

“I actually don’t remember getting hit. I never watched the tape of it either,” Shaw said. “It was hard to be on the sideline watching and not being able to contribute the rest of the season. Watching everyone else have fun, working hard and playing is tough.”

In the game and a half that he played, Shaw rushed 17 times for 54 yards with one touchdown and caught three passes for 59 yards.

Technically, Shaw only has two seasons of football under his belt since the concussion caused him to redshirt the year. This means he would possibly have two more years to play, 2011 guaranteed and possibly 2012 with an approved medical redshirt.

Since the concussion, Shaw has worked hard to recover and get back.

“It’s been a long process. Every day you wake up with headaches,” Shaw said. “I wasn’t able to go to class or do anything for three weeks. It was a hard process to catch up with school and try and get back in shape.”

Shaw worked hard through it all and had himself 100 percent ready for the 2011 season, but was knocked right back down, this time with a knee injury in the Oregon State game.

“It was a freak accident. I got gang tackled and they fell on my knee,” Shaw said. “I got up and knew something was wrong. Something was holding me back from being myself.”

Shaw was later diagnosed with a posterior cruciate ligament sprain to the ligaments, which caused inflammation to the meniscus. He had surgery on the PCL and had the inflammation cleaned out and has worked hard once again to rebound from the injury.

Shaw works out with the team doing upper body workouts and he rehabs with Brandon Padilla, the director of athletic training.

“We’ve had to work on his strength and range of motion, basic things people take for granted,” Padilla said. “Walking, knee bends and squats. We’ve slowly helped him progress and get back to the point where he is going to be able to run and cut.”

Shaw is excited to get back out on the field and help the Hornets make some noise the rest of the season.

“We have talent this year and were capable of taking this all the way,” Shaw said. “We have to work hard and take it day by day. We can make things happen.”

Doctors cleared Shaw Oct. 4 to begin running and he is looking at a possible Oct. 22 home game return against Eastern Washington University.

Josh Stanley can be reached at [email protected].