Blue-Grey Football Alumni Update: Davon Durant

Blue-Grey All-American Bowl alum Davon Durant is doing well nowadays at Marshall.

Plenty of prospects, some of them high-profile, others under-the-radar, have come and gone in the past decade or so, since the inception of the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl. Still, the talent level across the board on the national level has been about as good as it gets.

Things don’t figure to change anytime soon, either, as the hype continues to build for this year’s games: The first on Dec. 22 at Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, the second on Jan. 14 at Jacksonville Jaguars’ EverBank Field and the third on Jan. 21 at Oakland Raiders’ Coliseum.

To gain a better understanding about the rapidly growing direction of things, perhaps it’s best to take some time to reflect on the humble beginnings. Therefore, moving forward, the plan is to more closely examine the brand’s many alumni from all over the country.

The topic of conversation is Davon Durant from Greenwood (SC). As a member of the Class of 2013, in the inaugural All-American Bowl, he was nearly named Defensive MVP as South defeated North, 21-14, at Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium.

Some remember that Durant nearly stole the show, despite there being plenty of talent, including Kansas State commit Byron Pringle, Indiana commit Michael McGinnis, Akron commit Austin Wolf, Ohio State commit Reid Worstell and Florida State commit Hunter DeWitt.

Despite many trials and tribulations along the way, Durant is still getting the job done. Only now, the 6-foot-2 and 235-pound redshirt junior linebacker is doing so at Marshall. He will be in action against Louisville on Sept. 24 in a nonconference game at 12 p.m. (EST).

In the season opener for the Thundering Herd, Durant finished with seven tackles, three solo stops, in a 62-0 nonconference victory over Morgan State. One week later, he ended up another seven tackles, one for a loss, in a 65-38 nonconference loss to Akron.

Worth mentioning, there have been many twists and turns along the way. Durant initially committed to Arizona State, but things did not work there, both on and off the field. Far from home, at crossroads of sorts, he had to make some major decisions about the future.

He then landed at Butler Community College, and in two years, transformed himself. Durant was rated as a four-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, an accurate talent indicator as the tool takes into account evaluations of all the recruiting services.

All signs point to the future being particularly bright with the Thundering Herd. Perhaps beyond, maybe in the NFL Draft or the undrafted free agent route. Still, not long ago, in its debut, Durant made a name for himself during the brand’s All-American Bowl in Florida.