Darian Durant (born August 19, 1982 in Florence, South Carolina) is the starting quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

[edit] Early years

Durant attended high school at Wilson High School in Florence, South Carolina and was considered the star quarterback. He graduated in 2000.

[edit] College career

He attended college at the University of North Carolina where he left as the all time leading passer in school history. Durant finished his college career with school records for career completion percentage (.605), career touchdowns (68), career passing yards (8,755), total career offence (9,630 yards), and career completions (701). As of 2009, he is the only player in UNC history to throw for more than 8,000 yards and the only player in school history with more than 9,000 yards of total offence.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Baltimore Ravens

Durant attended the Baltimore Ravens training camp in 2005, wearing number 8. He spent time on the practice roster competing with fellow rookie Derek Anderson for the third string spot. However, Durant was released midway through the pre-season on August 20, 2005.

[edit] Saskatchewan Roughriders

Durant was signed as a free agent by the Saskatchewan Roughriders on May 11, 2006. He was assigned to the practice roster but became active once starter Kerry Joseph went down with injury after an August game versus Edmonton and became the third string quarterback. After second-string quarterback Marcus Crandell was injured in the next game versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Durant was backing up third-stringer Rocky Butler. In the next game, part of a home-and-home series versus Hamilton, Durant saw time late in the game and completed his first CFL pass for 14 yards and also had one rush for 20 yards. Despite being the fourth string quarterback, Durant managed to see game time in the 2006 season.

After Butler was traded to Hamilton in the off-season, Durant was elevated to the third-string quarterback position for the 2007 season. He dressed for all 18 regular season games and three playoff games, but did not see any game time. Durant shared in the Roughriders' Grey Cup victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Toronto, earning his first championship ring.

The 2007-2008 offseason was a tumultuous one where Head Coach Kent Austin left to pursue a job as offensive coordinator at the University of Mississippi and 2007 MOP Kerry Joseph was traded to the Toronto Argonauts due to contract disputes. This provided Durant with an opportunity. After losing the backup position to newcomer Steven Jyles, Durant was still the third string quarterback in new Head Coach Ken Miller's eye. In game 2 of the 2008 Season against the BC Lions, starter Marcus Crandell went down with injury in the second quarter leaving Jyles to step in. After throwing two interceptions, Jyles was pulled at halftime with Durant starting the second half; his first game action since 2006. By managing the game well, Durant used his playmakers and came up with a 26-16 victory over the BC Lions.

With Crandell out with injury, Durant made his first ever professional start for the Roughriders on July 12, 2008 versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, throwing for 339 yards to lead his team to victory. Durant also started the next game at home versus the Montreal Alouettes passing for 349 yards in a 41-33 come-from-behind win. His good fortune would stop there, however, as Durant suffered cracked ribs in the first quarter of the next game versus the Toronto Argonauts, keeping him out of the lineup for the next three games. In the meantime, the Saskatchewan Roughriders acquired Michael Bishop in August and released Marcus Crandell, naming Bishop the starter. The results were mixed as Bishop's continual inconsistent play eventually led to Durant being named the starter for an October 19th game versus Hamilton. After throwing three interceptions, Durant was benched just before halftime and Jyles took over. Jyles started the next game, but his unsatisfactory play led to Bishop taking over again with Durant taking the second string spot once again.

After an embarrassing 33-12 West Semi-Final loss to BC which saw Bishop commit five turnovers, the Roughriders released Bishop a few days later. Demonstrating confidence in Durant, Saskatchewan used this as a message to lure Durant away from free agency before the February 15 deadline. Durant re-signed with Saskatchewan on January 5, 2009 after posting a 4-0 record as a starter in 2008. Durant was told that he would have to become a leader, but that it would still be open competition at the start of the 2009 training camp.

After the conclusion of pre-season play, Durant was named the starting quarterback for the 2009 season opener versus the BC Lions. During the first half of the season, there was certainly a learning curve for Durant and the Roughriders as they finished 4-4 before the bye week. Head coach Ken Miller would insert backup Steven Jyles into four of those games. In some instances, a "quarterback rotation" would come into effect where Durant would re-enter the game after having watched from the sidelines. A highlight in this half would be where Durant connected with Chris Getzlaf on a fourth quarter touchdown bomb to win against the Calgary Stampeders in McMahon Stadium 24-23.

After convincing wins against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Labour Day Classic and Banjo Bowl games, Durant and the Roughriders never maintained a winning streak, but did manage bounce back from every loss or tie with a victory. Overcoming three interceptions, he engineered a win against the Edmonton Eskimos in front of a Commonwealth Stadium regular season record crowd of 62,517 fans. He also had one of his best games of the season in a 44-44 tie against Calgary, completing 35 of 45 pass attempts for 427 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-tying touchdown and two-point convert. In what was easily his worst performance of the season against Hamilton, Durant and the Roughriders bounced back yet again the next week against Calgary, securing first place in the CFL West Division for the first time since 1976. Durant was also the first Roughriders quarterback to start all 18 games since Kent Austin in 1992. Durant was noted for his ability to come back in the fourth quarter, tying up games or simply winning them on several occasions. He finished six for six on two-point conversion attempts and on a quirky note, had two receptions for negative eleven yards that were thrown by himself. He was nominated as the Saskatchewan Roughriders' team representative for the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award.

Durant, after taking the Saskatchewan Roughriders to the 2009 Western finals, started for the final game and came out on top with a score of 27-17 against Calgary. He completed 18 of his 25 attempted passes resulting in three touchdowns and 204 yards. During the Western Final game Durant did a fake pass to Jason Armstead which resulted in Armstead throwing a 42 yard completed pass. Durant will start for the 2009 Grey Cup game against the Eastern champions, The Montreal Alouettes, on Sunday November 29th.

[edit] Yearly statistics

[edit] Passing stats

[edit] Rushing stats

[edit] Personal

Durant spends his off-seasons at his home in South Carolina. Has one older brother, two younger brothers and one younger sister. His brother Justin Durant plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Durant has said that he modeled his game after Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. He switched to No. 4 in university after wearing No. 11 as a freshman at UNC because he wore No. 4 in high school. He wore No. 14 for two seasons in Saskatchewan until switching to his familiar No. 4 after the departure of Kerry Joseph. His earliest football memory is returning a punt for a touchdown when he was nine. He majored in African American history at UNC.

[edit] External links

• Bezjak, Lou (July 2, 2009). "Durant ready to lead CFL team as starting QB". South Carolina Now. http://www.scnow.com/scp/sports/other/article/durant_ready_to_lead_cfl_team_as_starting_qb/61762/. Retrieved 2009-07-03. 
• DarianDurant.com Official Website
• Darian's Tar Heels profile