Bowling Green State University Athletics
D.J. Durkin Feels Right At Home
August 09, 2005 | Football
Aug. 9, 2005
Bowling Green, Ohio - Sometimes you have to leave to be able to come back home. For former BGSU football captain D.J. Durkin, no statement could be truer. The Boardman, Ohio native begins his first year as a full-time member of the BGSU coaching staff and leads a group of talented defensive ends.
Durkin came to BGSU in August of 1996 after earning All-Northeast Ohio honors at Boardman High School. After sitting out his first season as a redshirt Durkin would become a four-year starter and play outside linebacker and defensive end. A two-time captain, he recorded 131 tackles, including 28 for a loss, and received a number of team awards during his career including the Ken Schoeni Award for character and toughness, the Carlos Jackson Award for personifying the true student-athlete and the Leadership Award.
After serving two years as a graduate assistant on defense on Urban Meyer's staff, Durkin had hoped to fill a full-time defensive slot on Gregg Brandon's first staff in early 2003. When no openings were available on defense, Durkin ventured to Notre Dame to serve as the defensive GA for the Fighting Irish for the next two seasons. Following an expereince which culminated in a trip to the Insight.com Bowl last winter with Notre Dame, Durkin came back to BGSU earlier this year when Vance Joseph left to join the San Francisco 49ers.
Q: At what point did you realize you wanted to be a coach on the collegiate level?
"Ever since I started playing football, I always knew I wanted to have something to do with the game. I played the game as long as my talents and abilities allowed me to, and when I got to that point (where my playing career was finished), I knew I wanted to do something with football. I couldn't picture myself being in the business world or doing something else. The next best thing to playing football is coaching the game. I love it."
Q: During your playing career, the team didn't have the success it had hoped, but I remember your reaction at Ohio in 2001 when the team clinched its first winning season. What was that like?
"This university and this program really mean a lot to me and just like you said, I take great pride in the fact that I played here and was a part of that and I really felt a part of our success in 2001. I was a grad assistant, I was helping coach. Not to mention, three quarters of the team were guys I played with, my teammates. There's no closer bond you can have, other than family in life, than your team which is your family when you're playing football. So I was so happy to be with those guys and finally feel that accomplishment. It was very special."
Q: After your two years as a GA, Coach Meyer left, Coach Brandon came aboard and then you went to Notre Dame. Do you think the time away from Bowling Green gave you a different perspective and allowed you to come back and bring even more to this opportunity.
"Yeah, no question. It was tough for me to leave. I would have loved to stay at the time. I had a great experience at Notre Dame and I learned being around different people, no matter what you do in life, can help you learn different things. Working with Coach Willingham, and with the defensive staff like Greg Madison was invaluable. I couldn't trade that experience for anything. I think a lot of that now has helped me be a better coach in the position I have here."
Q: There's really only a handful of people involved in the program who were here when it struggled. Are you able to keep guys grounded and remind them not to take things for granted?
"One of the coaches that used to be here used to always say winning is very fragile. I think that's the truest statement you can ever hear someone say, it is. I have a Bowling Green perspective probably different than a lot of people. We have to teach these young guys coming in, hey, all this stuff isn't just handed to you. There was a reason we are winning, there's a way to get there. It's hard work, and paying your dues. In one sense it's great because everyone expects to win, that's what you want, you want to play when everyone expects to go out and win every time you take the field. However, you also have to realize why that expectation level is what it is. Because of what everyone's done here to build it up for you. You have to keep that sense of urgency, you have to keep that work ethic to keep it going."
Q: Talk about some of the players you have at defensive end?
"In my particular position, I'm very fortunate to come in with two experienced guys, two guys who played a lot of football here, they're both juniors, Devon Parks and Brad Williams. Those are guys who have played a lot of football here and done some great things. I'm hoping that what I can teach them can take them to the next level. They're both very good players and provide good leadership. These guys know what it takes, they both work hard and do a great job. Like anyone else, you can always get better and prove yourself."
"I'm really pleased with the amount of depth and quality that we have at defensive end. Guys like Brandon Mack and Joe Schaefer, two guys that are pushing for spots and pushing for playing time. The days of just playing two starters and that's it are over. Diyral Briggs and Scott Goodwin are two guys that we moved from linebacker and they're both so far doing a great job. I look for them to help us, provide us with some depth and playing time as well. It gives us some great athleticism at the position. We have some young freshmen, we have 3 defensive ends that came in with this freshmen class that are all doing an outstanding job. If not sooner, at some point, they're going to be great players here as well. They have promising talents."
Q: What is the defense most focused on right now as a whole.
"We're really concentrating on fundamentals and playing hard and having our guys be in the right spot and just being sound. His big thing is just effort, we want guys that will just fly around and just hit you and just play hard every down. And when they get tired, we want 11 more guys that we can roll in to do the same thing."
