DURANTS STILL HAS ROOTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

By Murray McCormick, Leader-PostNovember 19, 2009

REGINA — Darian Durant appreciates where he is and where he has been.

The starting quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders hasn’t forgotten about his football roots in Florence, S.C., a city of approximately 31,000. Durant keeps in touch with Darryl Page, the head football coach with the Wilson High School Tigers. Durant was the Tigers’ starting varsity quarterback from 1997 to 1999 before moving to the University of North Carolina.

“You never forget where you come from,’’ said Durant, who is preparing to play the Calgary Stampeders in Sunday’s West Division final at Mosaic Stadium. “You never forget where you threw your first pass or who your first coach was. That’s how we were raised. We wouldn’t be here without the support of Florence or the athletic department there.’’

Darian and Justin Durant, who is the starting middle linebacker with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, both attended Wilson High School. They played together for one season in 1999 and still visit the school when they return to their home in the off-season.

“They come in and they both talk to the kids,’’ Page, Wilson’s head football coach, said from Florence. “It’s not just about athletics. They tell them that they never thought the things that are happening to them now would happen while they were at Wilson. They are both giving back.’’

Darian and Justin, who live together in Jacksonville during the off-season, were taught that lesson by their mother, Betty. She is a single mother who raised two sons who would become professional football players. She accomplished that with discipline and by stressing academics.

“No grades, no sports,’’ Betty Durant said from Florence. “I had to enforce it sometimes but it really wasn’t an issue. They were both good students.’’

Durant has remained close to his father, Israel. In fact, Betty and Israel are to be in Regina this weekend for the West Division final. Betty Durant has been in Regina before and enjoys the atmosphere at Mosaic Stadium.

“The main thing is to see Darian but it’s a beautiful town,’’ said Betty. “The atmosphere is wild and the fans are truly great. It makes me feel wonderful to see them going wild and knowing that my son has a part in it.’’
Page has served as Wilson’s head coach since 1993. During his tenure as head coach, Wilson has produced three professional football players — the Durant brothers and Lawrence Timmons, a third-year linebacker with the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers. Page is proud of the success of all his football players but seems to have a special feeling for Darian.

“He was the first big-name star that I had here,’’ said Page. “You could tell early on that he was destined for big things.’’

Durant did that with Wilson. In three seasons he threw for 7,241 yards and 69 touchdown passes. He also rushed for 24 majors.

“I’m a big fan of the person, not just the football player because I’ve seen him mature and grow,’’ said Page.
Page is also proud of the way Durant supports the program. On Dec. 1, 2007, the Tigers won the South Carolina AAA football championship in Columbia, S.C. The first person that Page embraced was Durant, who was in the stands after sharing in the Riders’ 23-19 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup game on Nov. 25 as a backup quarterback.

“He was the last guy that I expected to see down there,’’ Page said with a chuckle. “We embraced and I told him that. He told me, ‘Coach, I wasn’t going to miss this.’ ’’

It’s those type of moments that keep Darian going back to his high school.

“The least we can do is go back home and talk to the kids,’’ said Durant. “We want to show them that you can make it out of our home town.’’

mmccormick@leaderpost.canwest.com