July 25, 2004

by David Droschak, TarHeelBlue.com

GREENSBORO - The most prolific passer in North Carolina history isn't on the cover of the recently released 2004 football media guide.

And no, the school doesn't have to send back thousands of copies for reprints.

Darian Durant's photo had been on the front of the media guide for two seasons, but after 3-9 and 2-10 records the senior said superstition won out this time around.

"I've been on the cover and we've had bad years, and being a little superstitious I just wanted to change things up," Durant said Sunday at the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff. "Maybe if I'm not on the front of the media guide we'll win some games.

"It's a very little thing, but I also wanted to make it more of a team thing," Durant added. "Maybe the team will feed off of it."

It took some convincing by Durant, who holds five UNC career passing records, to get coach John Bunting and football media director Kevin Best to go along with the idea.

For years, media guide covers have been used to promote the school's best players. For example, Philip Rivers of N.C. State and Matt Schaub of Virginia were plastered on their school's media guides last season to begin pitching their Heisman Trophy candidacies.

Durant is considered one of the top QBs in the Atlantic Coast Conference and heads into the season ranked 14th-best in the nation at that position by The Sporting News.

"He came to me once, and then he came back to me two more times and said he didn't want to be on the cover," Best said. "He even lied to me one time and told me that he had talked to coach and coach said he didn't have to be on the cover. Of course that didn't happen.

"I wanted him on the cover because he's our best player and this is the No. 1 way to promote our football team, in the end it's what he wanted," Best said. "He's on the back cover - very big."

Instead of Durant, the 2004 cover features senior linemen Jason Brown and Chase Page standing in front of the big sculpted ram at the entrance to the Kenan Football Center.

Page laughed when asked if he bribed Durant to let two linemen grace the cover.

"He tried to fool you guys to make it look like he's a team guy," Page said, laughing. "All I know is I've never been on the cover of anything so it's something I can show my grandchildren."

Durant has thrown for 6,517 yards and 51 touchdowns in his three-year UNC career. His passing total ranks 16th on the all-time ACC list.