Darian Durant
Florence (SC) Wilson | ||
Hand | Right | |
---|---|---|
Career history | ||
As player | ||
2005 | Baltimore Ravens* | |
2006–2016 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | |
2017 | Montreal Alouettes | |
2018* | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |
*Offseason and/or practice squad member only | ||
Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
CFL West All-Star | INT 164–115 | |
Passing yards | 31,740 | |
Passer rating | 88.9 | |
|
Darian Bernard Durant (born August 19, 1982) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played college football at the University of North Carolina. By the end of his college career, he held school records for completion percentage, touchdowns, passing yards, total offense and completions. Durant was signed as a free agent by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2006, and became the club's full-time starting quarterback in 2009. He was named a CFL West Division All-Star in 2009 and 2013. Durant was the starting quarterback when the Saskatchewan Roughriders won the 101st Grey Cup in 2013 on their home field. Durant also played for the Montreal Alouettes in 2017. His brother Justin played in the National Football League as a linebacker.
Early life
Durant was born on August 19, 1982,
Amateur football
High school
Durant attended high school at
College
Durant signed a letter of intent to play college football at the University of North Carolina in 2000.[6] In 2001, during his first NCAA season, Durant established school freshman records with 17 touchdown passes, 142 completions, 1843 passing yards and 1971 yards of total offense.[2] His freshman records for passing yards and completions were broken in 2007 by T. J. Yates.[7] During his freshman season, Durant was named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Week five times.[8] He finished second overall in ACC Rookie of the Year voting to Florida State quarterback Chris Rix.[2] As a freshman, Durant split time with Ronald Curry, helping the team to a victory in the 2001 Peach Bowl against Auburn.[2] He was awarded the Jeffrey Cowell Memorial Award as the team's top freshman.[9]
After his college career, Durant was one of the most accomplished athletes in the school's history. He held 51 offensive records at the school. During his
Professional football
Baltimore Ravens
Durant was undrafted in the
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Durant was placed on the Ottawa Renegades negotiation list in 2006, by future Saskatchewan Roughriders general manager Eric Tillman.[12] After the Renegades folded, his rights were obtained by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and later dealt to the Roughriders in a trade that included Corey Holmes.[12][13] Durant signed with the team on May 11, 2006.[14] During the 2006 season, he served as the team's backup quarterback for eight games, completing a single pass for 14 yards and recording a single rushing attempt for 20 yards in a game against Hamilton.[4] Durant was on the team's practice roster for the remaining ten games.[4]
During the 2007 season, Durant spent the entire season on the active roster, and was available for all of the Roughrider regular season and playoff games, but did not see any game action while serving as the team's third-string quarterback.[4] Durant was on the sidelines as starting quarterback Kerry Joseph led Roughriders to a victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup.[15]
Joseph was traded to the
Durant entered the
In a Grey Cup rematch to kick off the
The 2011 campaign was a let down year not only for Durant but also for the Roughriders as a whole. The Riders stumbled out of the gate losing seven of their first eight games. Durant's production fell significantly through the course of the season. Near the end of the season Durant was playing with a broken bone in his foot, which ultimately led to him missing the last two games of the regular season.[27] The Riders would finish the year with only 5 wins and 13 losses, placing them in last place in the league. Despite the reduced production in 2011 on April 27, 2012, the Riders extended his contract through the 2014 CFL season.[28]
The 2013 season was arguably the best season of Durant's career. He set career highs in touchdowns, with 31, while limiting his interceptions to only 12. He began the year having attempted 212 consecutive pass attempts without being intercepted joining Dave Dickenson and later Ricky Ray as the only quarterback in CFL history to start 7 consecutive games without throwing an interception.[29] He also set a career-high for passer rating with 95.7 (excluding his 2006 season in which he only completed one pass). He led the Riders to an 11–7 record and home-field in the Western Semi-Finals against the BC Lions where several of his rushing plays won the game for the Riders. After beating Calgary in the Western Final, Durant led the Riders to their fourth Grey Cup championship on their home turf at Mosaic Stadium.
Durant was forced out of the 2015 season due to injury when he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in the Riders' first week game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[30][31] After rehabbing his Achilles tendon all off-season Durant returned as the Roughriders leading quarterback for the 2016 season. Early in the second quarter of the fourth week Durant left the game after BC defensive linemen Mic'hael Brooks fell into his leg on a passing play. He was taken into the Riders locker room and later appeared on the sidelines using crutches.[32] Following the game the X-Rays revealed no structural damage, and Durant was considered day-to-day with an ankle sprain.[33] Durant ending up only missing two weeks returning as the starting quarterback in Week 7.[34] By the August 20 game in Hamilton, Durant had thrown 323 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, a CFL record. Durant was also rested for the final game of the season as the team was eliminated from playoff competition and wanted to see their other quarterbacks on roster (Brandon Bridge, Mitchell Gale, and G.J. Kinne) get some playing time.[35] Following the conclusion of the regular season Durant expressed his disappointment that contract negotiations with the Roughriders had stalled. If no deal had been reached, Durant would have been a free-agent when the free agency period commenced on 14 February 2017. On January 5, 2017, the Riders made a new offer to Durant. The offer reportedly included a base salary of around $300,000, with performance incentives set to reach $400,000 in 2017.[36]
Montreal Alouettes
After the Roughriders were unable to agree upon terms with Durant, his rights were traded to the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Durant agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on January 20, 2018. On May 11, 2018, Darian Durant announced his retirement from professional football.[42] Durant's retirement surprised the Bombers who were expecting Durant to begin the season as the backup to Matt Nichols.[43]
Statistics
Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Games | Started | Att | Comp | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Rating | Att | Yards | Avg | Long | TD | Fumb | ||
2006 | SSK | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 143.8 | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | ||
2007 | SSK | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2008 | SSK | 15 | 4 | 129 | 77 | 59.7 | 1,122 | 7 | 6 | 86.8 | 27 | 204 | 7.6 | 25 | 1 | 1 | ||
2009 | SSK | 18 | 18 | 561 | 339 | 60.4 | 4,348 | 24 | 21 | 83.4 | 60 | 501 | 8.4 | 25 | 3 | 6 | ||
2010 | SSK | 18 | 18 | 644 | 391 | 60.7 | 5,542 | 25 | 22 | 87.2 | 80 | 618 | 7.7 | 35 | 7 | 13 | ||
2011 | SSK | 18 | 15 | 489 | 299 | 61.1 | 3,653 | 18 | 14 | 84.5 | 55 | 381 | 6.9 | 22 | 2 | 9 | ||
2012 | SSK | 18 | 16 | 486 | 313 | 64.4 | 3,878 | 20 | 12 | 92.4 | 32 | 342 | 10.7 | 27 | 1 | 5 | ||
2013 | SSK | 18 | 16 | 531 | 325 | 61.2 | 4,154 | 31 | 12 | 95.7 | 42 | 369 | 8.8 | 27 | 1 | 9 | ||
2014 | SSK | 10 | 10 | 228 | 138 | 60.5 | 1,792 | 8 | 5 | 87.8 | 21 | 179 | 8.5 | 17 | 1 | 1 | ||
2015 | SSK | 1 | 1 | 18 | 13 | 72.2 | 165 | 2 | 0 | 137.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2016 | SSK | 15 | 15 | 496 | 330 | 66.5 | 3,839 | 14 | 7 | 93.3 | 57 | 308 | 5.4 | 25 | 6 | 9 | ||
2017 | MTL | 17 | 15 | 417 | 274 | 65.7 | 3,233 | 15 | 16 | 85.1 | 27 | 182 | 6.7 | 19 | 1 | 3 | ||
SSK totals | 157 | 113 | 3,584 | 2,226 | 62.1 | 28,507 | 149 | 99 | 89.3 | 375 | 2,922 | 7.8 | 35 | 22 | 53 | |||
CFL totals | 174 | 128 | 4,001 | 2,500 | 62.5 | 31,740 | 164 | 115 | 88.9 | 402 | 3,104 | 7.7 | 35 | 23 | 56 |
Personal life
Durant has a
References
- ^ "CFL.ca game notes: a look at week 6". July 17, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Darian Durant". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Archived from the original on January 7, 2010. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ McCormick, Murray (November 20, 2009). "Sask. Roughriders' Darian Durant and Jacksonville Jaguars' Justin Durant thankful to be playing pro football". Regina Leader Post. Retrieved September 28, 2010. [dead link]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Darian Durant". Saskatchewan Roughriders. Archived from the original on August 14, 2010. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ a b McCormick, Murray (July 3, 2009). "Rider quarterback Darian Durant comes from a football family". Regina Leader Post. Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
- ^ a b c "UNC Football Announces Letter of Intent Signees". Atlantic Coast Conference. February 2, 2000. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ "Player Bio: T. J. Yates". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Archived from the original on October 30, 2006. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- ^ "Durant Named ACC Rookie of the Week". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. November 12, 2001. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ "Tar Heels Hand Out Awards at Football Banquet". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. December 8, 2001. Archived from the original on June 18, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 0-7385-4288-1.
- ^ a b Kingston, Gary (July 11, 2010). "Durant a calm, cool navigator of the good ship Rider". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on July 14, 2010. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Durant gets his shot with Green Riders". Montreal Gazette. July 19, 2008. Archived from the original on August 9, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
- ^ https://www.cfl.ca/article/hamilton_and_saskatchewan_strike_deal Archived September 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Hamilton and Saskatchewan strike a deal
- ^ https://www.cfl.ca/article/transaction_22 Archived September 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Signed import QB Darian Durant
- ^ a b c Spencer, Donna (November 29, 2009). "Roughriders' Darian Durant sees future success". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ "Saskatchewan Roughriders Team Stats" (PDF). Canadian Football League. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 21, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
- Canadian Broadcast Corporation. August 28, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ "Roughriders place quarterback Bishop on waivers". The Sports Network. November 10, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ "Roughriders re-sign QB Darian Durant". The Sports Network. January 5, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
- ^ McCormick, Murray (June 27, 2009). "Riders hand ball to Durant". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- Canadian Broadcast Corporation. July 6, 2010. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
- ^ "Back to the future: Als get retro revenge on Riders". CFL.ca. August 6, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
- ^ a b "Riders battle back to beat Stamps in O.T." CFL.ca. September 18, 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
- ^ "Riders' Darian Durant and Andy Fantuz receive CFL player awards for September". Regina Leader Post. September 29, 2010. Archived from the original on October 2, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- ^ "Darian Durant and Wes Cates reach milestones". Regina Leader Post. Retrieved November 3, 2010. [dead link]
- ^ "Calvillo, Burris among nominees for most outstanding player". The Sports Network. November 3, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ^ "Riders QB Durant done for season". CBC News. October 26, 2011.
- ^ "Riders ink Durant through 2014 season | CFL.ca | Official Site of the Canadian Football League". Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
- ^ https://thestarphoenix.com/sports/Durant+poised+make+history/8846580/story.html[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Riders lose Darian Durant for rest of CFL season". SportsNet. June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
- ^ "Durant out for the season with ruptured Achilles". CFL.ca. June 28, 2015. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
- ^ "Durant sidelined by injury; Gale in for Riders". CFL.ca. July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
- ^ "X-rays negative on Roughriders QB Durant". July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
- ^ "Week 7 CFL picks: Can Durant fuel a Roughriders bounceback? - Sportsnet.ca". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
- ^ "Riders decide to rest dinged-up Durant, so three backup QBs to face Lions". Vancouver Sun. November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
- ^ 3Down Staff (January 5, 2017). "Madani: Riders make new offer to quarterback Darian Durant". 3DownNation. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Done Deal: Als come to terms with Durant on three-year deal". CFL.ca. January 19, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
- ^ Alouettes acquire rights to Riders QB Darian Durant
- ^ "QUAR: Quarterback Rating Ranking - CFL.ca". CFL.ca. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
- ^ "Alouettes deliver contract ultimatum to quarterback Darian Durant". Montreal Gazette. January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
- ^ "Alouettes release Darian Durant after one season - CFL.ca". CFL.ca. January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
- ^ "I Have Decided to Retire from Football".
- ^ Hamilton, Jeff (May 11, 2018). "QB Durant drops retirement bombshell". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^ Vanstone, Rob (August 4, 2010). "Riders QB Darian Durant back on practice field, but still battling illness". Regina Leader Post. Retrieved September 19, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- Regina Leader Post. Retrieved September 19, 2010. [dead link]
External links