Coney Durr finishes Gophers career having made many plays, many memories

PHOENIX – Six years ago, Coney Durr was preparing for his first career start for the Gophers in the Holiday Bowl, a freshman cornerback filling in on a depleted secondary. He acquitted himself well, making four tackles and breaking up a pass as Minnesota shut down Washington State's high-powered offense in a 17-12 win in San Diego.

Six years later, there Durr was Tuesday night, an elder statesman among Gophers cornerbacks, leading the secondary for Minnesota against West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix.

The Gophers emerged with an 18-6 victory, and Durr finished with two tackles and one pass breakup that created a turnover on downs.

"It's definitely been a journey,'' Durr said in preparation for the bowl. "You could say it went by fast, but it kind of went by slow, too. There was just a ton of stuff that happened along the way.''

The first of the ton of stuff came in that Holiday Bowl when Durr suffered a torn anterior cruciate knee ligament, an injury that would shelve him for all but two games of the 2017 season. Granted a medical hardship waiver by the NCAA, he rebounded in 2018, starting nine of 13 games. Over the past three seasons, Durr has been a fixture in the Gophers secondary, playing every game and collecting 100 tackles, two interceptions and 20 pass breakups.

Durr considered leaving after the 2020 season and joining Benjamin St-Juste in declaring for the NFL draft. Instead, he returned and helped impart his wisdom in the secondary's younger players.

"The biggest thing I'll take from my career is my perseverance, for sure, with everything that I've been through,'' he said. "And really just spreading that knowledge to the younger guys and just teaching them to trust the process. Today with the [transfer] portal and stuff like that, it's really important to trust the process. Stuff will be hard. You can't run from hard. Embrace that and let that make you the person you're going to be.''

He's been especially helpful with true freshman cornerback Justin Walley, who quickly secured a starting job this season and has loads of potential.

Durr is impressed with Walley and "his eagerness to learn and soak it all in and just get better. He's a great learner and he knows how to apply what we talk about in the film room to the field. There are a lot of guys who physically could do the same things as him, but one thing that separates him is he's able to learn and put it on the field.''

Durr put those lessons to his own use throughout his career, and he was rewarded with memorable moments. Two came in wins over Wisconsin.

In 2018, Durr intercepted a pass as the Gophers rolled to a 37-15 win at Camp Randall Stadium and ended the Badgers' 14-year hold on Paul Bunyan's Axe. This year, Minnesota beat Wisconsin 23-13 in Minneapolis on Senior Day.

"It was an amazing feeling, the win over Wisconsin, and that's the only way to go out,'' Durr said. "Just the way it went down. My mom was there, we got a picture on the field, and everybody stormed the field. It was an amazing feeling. I can't really explain.''

Durr was the first Gopher to grab the Axe and start the celebration.

"They tried to hold me back, but I went behind the people in the sideline and kind of cheated,'' he said. "When Tanner [Morgan] took his knee, it was kind of a 40-yard dash.''

Tuesday, Durr was ready to make one more memory in a bowl game, coming full circle from that first start in 2016.

"When you look back at it, you wouldn't want it any other way,'' he said. "Facing those trials and tribulations make you into the person you are. It's important to weather those storms and come out on top.''

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck reflected on the players who were finishing their Gophers careers Tuesday.

"These guys all have individual stories. That's what you're going to miss the most is these young people as people, not just student-athletes, but people,'' Fleck said Sunday. "They're all better people because they went to the University of Minnesota. We all feel that way; we hope they do, too. They're going to be better husbands, fathers, members of their community, people of philanthropy. Go change the world and do something really special.

"That's what's going to be really hard. You're going to miss seeing the faces. Once you see a face, it quickly goes through your head the story of how they got here, what they've overcome. It's a very special, special team.''

All starters for the Gophers on offense and defense were accounted for during pregame warmups, so the team did not appear to have COVID-19 issues. On Sunday, both Fleck and West Virginia coach Neal Brown reported no cases of the coronavirus on their teams.

* The Gophers stretched their bowl winning streak, which started in the 2015 Quick Lane Bowl, to five games. Under Fleck, they are 3-0 in bowls, also winning the 2018 Quick Lane Bowl and the Outback Bowl following the 2019 season.

* Tuesday's appearance was Minnesota's fourth in this bowl game and their first victory. The Gophers played in it three times when it was the Insight Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. They lost 44-41 in overtime to Texas Tech in 2006, fell 42-21 to Kansas in 2008 and lost 14-13 to Iowa State in 2009.

* The Gophers improved to 10-12 all time in bowl games.

* Former Gophers tight end Maxx Williams, now with the Arizona Cardinals but out for the season because of a torn ACL, was on the Minnesota sideline before the game.

* Amid a light rainfall, the Chase Field roof was open for pregame ceremonies, including paratroopers delivering Gophers, West Virginia and United States flags. The roof was closed for the game.