Durant continues football career in Canada

Darian Durant just wants to play football, no matter where it is.

So if that means playing in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, 2,032 miles away from where he grew up in Florence, Durant is willing to do it.

The former Wilson and North Carolina standout has spent the past three years playing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

“It is good football,” Durant said this week in a phone interview. “Coming from the states, a lot of people don’t know much about it. But it’s the NFL of Canada, it’s their league.”

The CFL has produced its share of stars, who have gone on to successful NFL careers — such as quarterbacks Joe Theismann, Warren Moon and Doug Flutie.

That’s what Durant, who also plays quarterback, can hope for in the future.

Until this week, playing opportunities for Durant have been few and far between. Entering this season, Durant only completed one pass — a 14-yarder during his rookie campaign in 2006 — and was relegated to running the scout team in practice.

But when starting quarterback Marcus Crandell went down with a hamstring injury last week against British Columbia, Durant was pressed into duty. He went 5-of-11 for 56 yards in the Roughriders 26-16 win over the Lions.

On Saturday, he started his first game since his senior year at UNC. Durant was up to the task, completing 23-of-32 for 347 yards as the Roughriders improved to 3-0 with a 33-28 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

“I was ready to go, but I know my role. I fully expect Marcus to take the job when he comes back,” Durant said. “I just wanted to be able to step in and make sure they don’t lose a step.”

New kind of game

Playing in Canada has been an adjustment for Durant both on and off the field.

There is a different currency and customs to get used to, as well as living far away from home.

Durant also had to learn the CFL’s rules. Some of them include having 12 players on the field at one time, instead of 11; single points are earned when return isn’t made out of the end zone and any player except the quarterback is allowed to move before the snap.

The biggest difference, however, only three downs, instead of four to get a first down. Because of that, more is placed in the quarterback’s hands, which Durant says helps him develop his skills.

“Teams have their 1,000-yard backs, but this is a quarterback league,” he said. “You have the opportunities to take chances because you only have three downs.”

One of Durant’s highlights of the CFL happened last season when Durant got to experience the league’s highest plateau — winning a Grey Cup championship, the equivalent of the Super Bowl. The Roughriders defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19 in front of more than 52,000 fans at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

Durant, who dressed but didn’t play in the game, said the Grey Cup had all the pageantry and glamour a Super Bowl has with media days, parties and an extravagant halftime show, which was performed by Lenny Kravitz.

“That might have been the best experience in my life,” Durant said of the Grey Cup. “I never won a state championship or anything in college. It was tremendous and an electric atmosphere.”

High hopes

Winning a Grey Cup definitely wasn’t on Durant’s radar coming out of a successful collegiate career at UNC, where he set many records. He was the school’s leader in passing yards (8,755), total offense (9,630), touchdowns (68) and completions (701).

But Durant didn’t hear his name called on draft day. One of the knocks scouts had on him was his size. At 5-foot-11, Durant doesn’t have the size most NFL teams are looking for.

After being cut by the Ravens, Durant signed a free agent deal with the Roughriders the following year rather than go through the possibility of catching on with an NFL team.

“I didn’t want to make it through a mini camp and then get cut at the end of training camp,” Durant said. “I didn’t want to be bouncing around from team to team and tryout to tryout.”

Since he arrived in Canada, Durant said he hasn’t gotten too many calls from NFL teams.

Brotherly love

Durant still follows the NFL closely — largely because his younger brother, Justin, is a linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Justin, who is three years younger than Darian, is coming off a strong rookie campaign in which he played in 13 games and had 70 tackles, including 17 in a playoff win over the Steelers. Justin led the Jags in postseason tackles with 31.

“The sky is the limit for him,” Darian said of his younger brother. “In the next two or three years, he going to be a pro bowl linebacker, as long as he stays healthy.”

Darian moved to Jacksonville, Fla., after his season ended in October to live with his younger brother. He attends the Jags’ home games and said he will try to make it to some of the road contests. Darian said that gives them a chance to spend more time together, something that didn’t happen when he was at UNC and Justin was still in high school.

“He is my best friend and brother, all you could want in a family member,” Darian said. “We will always be tight.”

Justin is glad to have his brother there.

“He is great and (has) always been there for me,” Justin said during an interview with the Morning News last year. “He was always giving me advice, especially before I got drafted.”

What’s next?

Durant is in the final year or “option” year of a three-year deal he signed. CFL teams give players the “option,” meaning they are able to sign or try and catch on with an NFL team.

Durant said he wouldn’t mind getting a chance to play in the NFL if it the right opportunity comes up, but he is just as content spending his playing career in the CFL. He said he loves the laid-back atmosphere in Canada, the mild summers and the lack of crime.

And most importantly, he is doing what he loves most — playing football.

“There is nothing else I would rather be doing, as long as I am physically able,” Durant said. “That is what keeps me going.”