Durkin joins Gators

A Boardman native has joined the University of Florida football coaching staff.

D.J. Durkin, a Boardman High graduate, has left Stanford University coaching staff to become the linebackers coach at No. 5-ranked and Sugar Bowl champion Florida.

An assistant coach at Stanford for the past three seasons tutoring defensive ends and special teams, Durkin will assist interim coach Steve Addazio, Florida’s’ offensive coordinator.

Addazio is filling in for coach Urban Meyer, who has taken a leave of absence for health reasons after leading the Gators to a 51-24 win over No. 4-ranked and previously-unbeaten Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Durkin launched his coaching career at Bowling Green in 2001, the same year Meyer began coaching the Falcons. Durkin served as a defensive graduate assistant on Meyer’s staff for two seasons (2001-02).

Durkin concluded his third season at Stanford on Dec. 31 when the Cardinal lost to Oklahoma, 31-27, in the 76th Brut Sun Bowl on Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas.

He coached Stanford’s defensive ends and also coordinated the special teams’ units.

Durkin was joined in the move to Florida by Syracuse assistant Stan Drayton, a native of Cleveland and a former three-time All-American first-team running back at Allegheny College. Drayton will coach the Gators’ running backs.

Florida announced both moves Tuesday.

Meyer is pleased Durkin and Drayton are coming to Florida.

“Coach Addazio and I worked together on this and are excited to have D.J. and Stan join our coaching staff,” said Meyer, a native of Ashtabula. “Both guys are familiar with the plan we have for our program, our coaches and our student-athletes. It will be a smooth transition and they both bring a high level of expertise to the table and have proven to be good recruiters.”

Durkin, a 2001 graduate of Bowling Green where he was a four-year starter at defensive end from 1997-2000, was a successful defensive coach at Stanford. He helped the team to rank 11th nationally in sacks per game in his first two seasons on the staff.

He came to Stanford after serving two more seasons on the Bowling Green coaching staff in 2005-06, tutoring defensive ends and then linebackers and special teams.

In 2001, BGSU’s defense ranked first in the Mid-American Conference in total defense, as well as four other major categories. And in 2002, the Falcons finished with a 9-3 record and were ranked in the Top 20 in both major polls.

Durkin, who also got his master’s degree at BGSU in 2004, shifted to Notre Dame as a graduate assistant coach on defense for two years (2003-04), focusing on coaching defensive ends before returning to the Bowling Green staff.

As BGSU player, Durkin was a four-year starting defensive end and outside linebacker, and served as one of the team captains for two seasons. He started 33 games in his career and recorded 131 tackles, including 28 for loss, also leading the Falcons in sacks in 1998 and finishing second in 2000.

Durkin also won numerous awards as a player, including the Ken Schoeni Award for character and toughness, the Carlos Jackson Award personifying the values of a student-athlete, and the Leadership Award.

Drayton, re-joins the Florida staff after coaching the running backs at Syracuse University in 2009. He coached Florida running backs from 2005 through 2007 and also has coached at Tennessee (2008), Mississippi State (2004) and Villanova (1996-2000) and in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers.

Known for being an elite recruiter, Drayton was named one of the nation’s top-25 recruiters in 2007 following his involvement with Florida’s No. 1-rated recruiting class.

While a running back at Allegheny College, Drayton set NCAA Division III single-season records for touchdowns (28) and touchdowns per game (2.8).

XJohn Kovack writes about college athletics for The VIndicator. E-mail him at kovach@vindy.com.