Durr Put Local Knowledge On Display During UW Spring Ball

Among the four freshmen cornerbacks for the University of Washington football team, Elijah Durr was the only one who wasn't originally from California, and consequently he wasn't as well advertised as the others in the recruiting rankings.

He was a Tacoma kid, from Mount Tahoma High School that stares up at Mount Rainier, making his way up Interstate 5 to Montlake.

"He's still scratching the surface of what we can see," Husky cornerbacks coach John Richardson said. "As we've seen, he was the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state last year and people didn't expect that."

After 15 spring football practices, there was no underestimating the 6-foot, 186-pound Durr any longer.

He ran with the No. 2 defense much of April while fellow freshmen Ksani Jiles and Jeron Jones rotated between the second and third teams and Rahsjon Duncan was still at home in the Bay Area finishing up high school.

Elijah Durr catches the ball during Spring Game warm-ups. | Dave Sizer photo

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.

Durr showed himself to be a ready contributor throughout spring ball. He was one of five freshmen at any position who regularly appeared in the two-deeps, along with starting defensive tackle Derek Colman-Brusa, starting offensive tackle Kodi Greene, wide receiver Mason James and back-up edge rusher Ramzak Fruean.

"He's working on different things to try and get on the field this year," Richardson said.

In the fourth practice, Durr first drew attention to himself when he came up on a pass play and dropped sophomore wide receiver Justice Williams for a 3-yard loss.

Later, he showed off his physicality when he threw down 6-foot-2, 241-pound freshman running back Ansu Sanoe for no gain.

The 12th practice was his best one, with Durr continually tested in the end zone and winning those battles. He had a pass break-up on a ball intended for Deji Ajose. He next intercepted a pass thrown for James.

He showed you didn't have to come from California to get the job done in coverage.

"The kid is growing up really fast," Richardson said. "Being a local kid, he's making sure that the state knows that the best players play here."

Elijah Durr backpedals in a pregame drill before the Spring Game. | Dave Sizer photo

What he's done: Durr proved to be a playmaker for Mount Tahoma, helping the Thunderbirds put together a 13-1 season and advance to the state championship game for the first time in four-plus decades. He hails from the same high school that provided the UW long ago with cornerback Ray Horton, an All-Pac-10 player and a 10-year NFL veteran who won three Super Bowls.

Starter or not: Durr won't start right away, but the Huskies should consider using him on special teams. Similar to Horton, he's a standout punt returner and scored on 47- and 65-yard runbacks for Mount Tahoma, plus he blocked five punts.

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