RIDERS WANT DURANT TO KEEP GETTING BETTER

The Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant gets away from the Montreal Alouettes' Chip Cox during the second half of the 97th CFL Grey Cup in Calgary, Alberta, on November 29, 2009.
Photograph by: Shaun Best, Reuters

REGINA — Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant had an all-star season in 2009.

Now the CFL team wants to see him top it.

"We'll be looking for him to continue doing what he has been doing and just get better," says Roughriders offensive co-ordinator Doug Berry. "He's a good student of the game, very dedicated and committed. When you have somebody like that, it's easy for them to get better."
After winning a battle in training camp with Steven Jyles to be Saskatchewan's starting quarterback last season, Durant completed 339 of 561 pass attempts for 4,348 yards with 24 touchdowns and 21 interceptions en route to being named a West Division all-star.

He finished second in the CFL in touchdown passes, tied for third in completions, and was fourth in yards. He also led the league in interceptions.

As well, the 5-foot-11, 214-pounder rushed 60 times for 501 yards (good for 10th in the CFL, one spot behind Calgary Stampeders pivot Henry Burris) and three touchdowns.

"He's a quarterback for the CFL," Berry says of Durant. "He's a mobile guy. He's not that committed to running, but he can make things happen with his feet. Over the year, you could see him develop as a passer in the spread offence the CFL uses . . .

"He's not that experienced at (running the spread offence). Some quarterbacks play four years in the spread offence in college. Darian didn't have that opportunity. He has done it here."
Durant also became a more vocal leader as the '09 season progressed, a skill on which he was asked to work by head coach Ken Miller. This off-season, the Roughriders' coaches asked Durant to take a more active role in meetings and that's an ongoing process.

It's all part of the development of a young quarterback.

"We want to keep having him know the game and understand what we want to do to the point where it's like having another coach on the field," Berry says.

"It's something I feel I learned from the quarterback in Montreal (Alouettes star Anthony Calvillo) when I coached him. It's something that has been very beneficial for Anthony and for Kevin Glenn (whom Berry coached with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers). Hopefully we can continue that trend here."

The major question mark in Saskatchewan through the off-season involved the backup quarterback.

Jyles signed with Winnipeg as a free agent, '09 third-stringer Dalton Bell was traded to the Toronto Argonauts, and No. 4 man Graham Harrell was released. That left Durant and No. 4A Cole Bergquist as the only two quarterbacks on the Roughriders' roster.

They added a third pivot in April by signing one-time Central Michigan star Kent Smith. Then, on Wednesday, Saskatchewan announced the long-anticipated signings of former Bombers pivot Ryan Dinwiddie and ex-Kansas standout Todd Reesing.

Dinwiddie has the most CFL experience of the four, having spent three seasons in Winnipeg. He was the Bombers' starting quarterback in the 2007 Grey Cup — which Winnipeg lost 23-19 to the Roughriders — but didn't play in '09 after being released in training camp.

Bergquist has size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds), a strong arm, good mobility and a year in the Roughriders' offence under his belt.

Smith has even more size (6-foot-5, 215 pounds) and he possesses a powerful throwing arm and good running ability.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Reesing doesn't have the size or the big arm NFL teams want in their quarterbacks, but he's a scrambler who during his NCAA career completed 64 per cent of his passes for 11,194 yards with 90 TDs.

One of them will have to replace Durant if something happens to the Roughriders' starter.
"We don't even talk about that," Berry says of the possibility of an injury to Durant. "If we focused on that, we wouldn't move forward very far."

Saskatchewan Roughriders Quarterbacks

(As of Sunday)

Ht Wt Age School

Cole Bergquist * 6-2 205 24 Montana
Ryan Dinwiddie * 6-1 195 29 Boise State
Darian Durant * 5-11 214 27 North Carolina
Todd Reesing * 5-11 200 22 Kansas
Kent Smith * 6-5 215 26 Central MichiganRead more: http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Riders+look+Durant+keep+getting+better/3092544/story.html#ixzz0pbBhfMCn