Duke RB Mataeo Durant goes from Plum Branch, SC, to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Posted May 13, 2022 6:00 a.m. EDT
Updated May 13, 2022 3:08 p.m. EDT
The 2022 NFL Draft had 262 players selected among the league’s 32 teams over a three-day span in Las Vegas.
Four-year Duke running back Mataeo Durant was not one of those picked, but he will get his NFL opportunity after signing as an undrafted free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Durant’s $15,000 signing bonus is the largest undrafted rookie free agent contract for a running back in Steelers history.
“Just to get the opportunity is also a great accomplishment because not many people get the opportunity for this to be a reality,” Durant said.
After not getting drafted, Durant said he called his former Duke teammate Deon Jackson, who played in nine games as an undrafted rookie in the 2021 regular season for the Indianapolis Colts.
“Deon is one of my brothers,” Durant said of Jackson. “He’s like a big brother to me. He’s one of my best friends, but he just told me … ‘Once you get in there, just kick down the door and just make the most of your opportunity like you’ve done your whole career.’”
Growing up in South Carolina
Durant grew up in Plum Branch, South Carolina, which has a population of 87 people.
“It felt like it was somewhat the same vibe because Duke is also a small, tight-knit community in regards to like the school,” Durant said.
Durant recalled going to his first college football game as a kid when the Auburn Tigers played the Clemson Tigers on Sept. 17, 2011, at Memorial Stadium. It was the first time he remembered wanting to pursue his dream of playing college football.
“After that, I just knew that this is something I wanted to do,” he said.
Durant’s mom is a school teacher, and his dad builds electric generators used on skyscrapers.
“They always tried to instill in me that if you’re going to do something, you might as well be the best at it,” Durant said of his parents.
Durant said he discovered he might be able to pursue being a Division I football player when he started competing with older players as a 14-year-old freshman at McCormick High School in McCormick, South Carolina.
“I knew it was going to be a hard and long shot just because of the small community I come from and how small my school was, but my support system was so great, and they kept on giving me the confidence,” Durant said.
Including Duke, Durant had 18 scholarship offers coming out of high school.
“Education was the most important thing to [my parents],” Durant said. “They say, ‘Use football to get your education. Not use your education to play football.’
“In this process, I was just hoping to make my family proud every step of the way, and I’ve seen the joy in the faces, and that makes me even happier. That allows me to thrive and achieve more.”
Playing at Duke
Like most freshman players, Durant didn’t play much during his first college season. In 2018, Durant played in nine games compiling 17 rushing attempts for 43 yards.
“We always say NFL or bust, but after freshman year, I wasn’t playing as much,” Durant said. “I was on [special] teams. I’m really happy I got that time to be on [special] teams because it allowed me to showcase my skillset.”
As a sophomore, Durant’s workload increased to 97 carries for 461 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in 12 games played.
Durant’s breakout season came in 2020 when he had 120 rushing attempts for 817 yards and eight touchdowns. His breakout performance came in an October 2020 win over Syracuse, in which he had 163 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“The dream became a reality during my junior season, which was like, quote-on-quote, my breakout year,” Durant said.
In the 2021 season, Durant ran for 1,241 yards, which set the Duke record for most rushing yards in a single season. Durant also had nine total touchdowns, earning a first-team All-ACC selection.
Durant’s best performance came when he ran for a career-high 255 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the 2021 season-opening game against Charlotte.
During his career at Duke, Durant ran for 2,562 yards and 18 touchdowns, becoming only the ninth Blue Devils player to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing during their career. Durant also caught 55 passes for 488 yards and four touchdowns. He missed only four games in four seasons.
Durant thanked his teammates and coaches. Specifically, he mentioned Jackson, fellow running back Brittain Brown, running backs coach Re’quan Boyette (2018-2020), running backs coach Calvin Magee (2021) and now former Duke head coach David Cutcliffe. Durant credited them for helping him remain patient.
“I think early in my career, I was getting a little impatient, like, ‘Oh man, I want to play. I want to play,’” Durant said. “The coaching staff did a great job not letting me burn out early, so not throwing me into a situation I wasn't ready for.”
Boyette played from 2005-2009 for the Blue Devils, and served as Durant’s running backs coach from 2018-2020. In the 2021 season, Boyette became the team’s co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.
“I want to give him a lot of credit for how my career advanced,” Durant said of Boyette. “Teaching me all the ways to be a really good back, and how to integrate myself at Duke as well.”
Cutcliffe is a legendary offensive mind, having coached Heath Shuler, Peyton Manning, Tee Martin and Erik Ainge while at Tennessee. He coached Eli Manning to the NFL as the former head coach at Ole Miss. Cutcliffe also sent three Duke quarterbacks – Sean Renfree, Thaddeus Lewis and Daniel Jones – to the league as the head coach of the Blue Devils.
Durant’s favorite memory of Cutcliffe came in July 2021 when the former Duke coach interrupted safety James Hopson II’s TikTok video. Cutcliffe was carrying a snake in his hand. The video went viral.
“Somehow, he came into the indoor [facility] on our photo shoot day with a snake in his hand, and he was just waving it around,” Durant recalled. “It was like, ‘Man, I can't believe he came in here with a snake!’”
@jhop411 take 1😭😭coach was trippinnn dawg @joshuablackwell0 #dukefootball #fypシ #snake #kickback
♬ original sound - J Hop❄️
Durant credited Cutcliffe for helping him develop and mature, even outside of football.
“Coach [Cutcliffe] held us accountable for our actions and I feel like that’s one thing everyone should look for in a college coach, someone who will hold you accountable for your actions and have really high expectations of you, ” Durant said.
After a third consecutive losing season, Duke and Cutcliffe reached a mutual agreement for separation in November 2021.
In December 2021, Durant announced on his Instagram page that he would enter the 2022 NFL Draft.
Pursuing an NFL dream
The Steelers did not select a running back during this year's draft after taking Alabama’s Najee Harris with the 24th overall pick a year ago. Barring injury, Harris is expected to remain the starter after a Pro Bowl season in 2021.
However, Durant will compete for a roster spot with Benny Snell Jr., Anthony McFarland, Trey Edmunds and undrafted rookie free agent Jaylen Warren out of Oklahoma State.
Durant will likely need to showcase his special teams’ abilities to make the Steelers’ 53-man roster, but the team needs to find a running back to complement to Harris.
Harris led the NFL with 381 touches in 2021, which was the most by a rookie since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2001. Harris didn’t miss a game last season and had only one fumble, which came in the team’s playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Steelers have also struggled to run the football the past few seasons:
- 2021: 93.1 rushing yards per game (29th in the NFL)
- 2020: 84.4 rushing yards per game (32nd in the NFL)
- 2019: 90.4 rushing yards per game (29th in the NFL)
- 2018: 90.3 rushing yards per game (31st in the NFL)
- 2017: 104.2 rushing yards per game (20th in the NFL)
Durant told WRAL Sports that he did have opportunities with other NFL teams before ultimately signing with the Steelers, who have won six Super Bowls as a franchise. It is tied for most in league history.
“I’m happy to be able to go in and work hard for a really great organization,” Durant said.
Last season, it was Harris who had the Steelers’ longest rush of the season, a 37-yard touchdown against the Cleveland Browns.
Durant’s explosiveness could play a factor, having run a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash, a 35-inch vertical leap and a 10-foot, 7-inch broad jump at Duke’s Pro Day. His career-long run is a 64-yarder.
“[I’m] a hard-working player who is always accountable for his actions,” Durant said. “[I’m] someone who is never going to slight you with effort, and [I’m] someone that is always going to get after it.”
Durant graduated on May 8 with a major in psychology. He minored in sociology and cultural anthropology. He said he’s excited to pursue his NFL dream.
“I'm able to get a Duke degree and go to the league,” Durant said. “That’s like, when people say, ‘the best of both worlds,’ that's definitely the best of both worlds.”
The Steelers' rookie minicamp is set for May 13-15. The team's mandatory minicamp is scheduled for June 7-9.
