By Murray McCormick, Leader-Post November 2, 2010 REGINA —
Home is where the heart is for Darian Durant.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback recently purchased a home in Regina and is settling down with his girlfriend, Dallas Jones.
"If I'm going to be a leader of this franchise, I need to be a leader in the community as well,'' said Durant, who usually returned to Jacksonville, Fla., during the off-season. "People gravitate towards the guy who is always in the community and lives in the city in which he plays. It's much better for the franchise, the organization and myself.''
Durant said that he has fallen in love with the city since joining the team in 2006.
"I love it because this is where I got my start,'' said Durant, who is 23-15-1 as a starter. "We have the best fans in the world and I definitely want to be part of that in the off-season.''
Durant's decision also comes with his age. He's like most most young men in that he's looking establish roots in the city where he earns his living.
"It's approaching that time,'' said Durant, adding that he has been with Jones, who hails from New Orleans, for a couple of years. "If you're always on the move, you don't have a chance to settle down. It started with me getting a home in Regina. Hopefully in a couple of years we might have a little one running around and we can really start calling Regina home.''
Durant, 28, has already spent an extended period in his adopted home town. For the second straight year, he stayed in Regina instead of heading to the United States during the bye week. He remained in the city, studying film and preparing for the second half of the season.
The decision paid off in 2009 as the Riders rebounded from a 4-4-0 start to go on a 6-3-1 run after the bye week to reach the 2009 Grey Cup game. This season, the results haven't been as dramatic. The Riders were 5-2-0 after beating the B.C. Lions 37-13 on Aug. 12 at Mosaic Stadium. Since the bye week, the Riders are 4-6-0 and are mired in a four-game losing streak. Durant doesn't feel his decision to remain in Regina is related to the current skid.
"Last year, I stayed here and we had a great second half,'' Durant said.
"This year, I stayed and we have another home playoff game. Maybe my staying is helping us get to the next level, regardless of what outsiders might think.''
Durant is enjoying a solid statistical season. He leads the CFL with 5,197 passing yards and paces all quarterbacks with 602 yards on the ground.
Durant is still struggling with consistency. He has thrown 24 touchdown passes, but leads the CFL with 22 interceptions. Durant threw three picks in Sunday's 23-17 loss to the host Lions.
"I'm not a stats guy and I don't worry about that,'' said Durant. " It's about wins and losses. If you have your team in position to win games and championships, that's what's important. We were close last year and now it's time to make another run at it.''
NOTES: Injured Riders receiver Rob Bagg is one of four semifinalists in the Pepsi Refresh Project-CFL Challenge. Bagg, Luke Fritz (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), Marwan Hage (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and Anthony Calvillo (Montreal) advanced after the first round of voting. The second round of fan voting concludes Nov. 12 when the two finalists will be determined. Voting ends on Nov. 24 with the winner receiving $50,000 for their charity. Bagg's cause is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Canada ... The DVD box set of On Roughriders: A Century of Saskatchewan Roughrider Football is to be officially released on Thursday. The set can be purchased at Rider Stores in Regina and Saskatoon or online for $24.95 ...
The Roughriders cancelled Tuesday's practice. No reason was given for the change, but the team didn't have a day off scheduled before playing host to the Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday. The Riders are to return to practice field today.
mmccormick@leaderpost.comRead more: http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/RIDER+BEAT+Darian+Durant+ready+call+Regina+home/3767232/story.html#ixzz14DgzBSSe
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