James Durrant

Football, Track & Field

Jim Durrant grew up in Payson. During his high school years he participated in football, wrestling, and track & field, where he was coached by the legendary Don Fuller. He was named High School Fullback All-State in 1949. He was also a member of the Payson High School Marching Band and was active in drama. Jim played football for the University of Utah from 1950 to 1953 and was All-Conference Guard in 1951, 1952, and 1953. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1953 but chose instead to become a high school coach for the next 27 years. When the school’s second building was finished in 1967, it did not have a football and track & field stadium. (Click here to read more about the history of Payson High School.) Coach Durrant enlisted his high school teammate Jack Etherington (also All-State in 1949) to be the chairperson for the “Payson High School Development Fund,” to get a stadium built.

Part of his coaching philosophy was to encourage his athletes to participate in multiple sports, just as he coached multiple sports. As the wrestling coach at Delta High School, he won two state championships (1955, 1956). Later, at Payson High School, he also had tremendous success. As football coach, his team won the Football State Championship in 1969 and 1971. As coach of the track & field team, they won the State Championship in 1979 (on Durrant's birthday). Jim suffered a fatal heart attack in August of 1984 while on the sidelines coaching the sophomores at Payson High. Coach Durrant was inducted in to the Utah Sports Hall of Fame for Distinguished High School Coaches in 1985. He was later inducted into the Nebo School District Hall of Fame in 2008.

The legacy of Coach Durrant's indomitable spirit and drive for excellence is still felt in the Payson High community. His impact on the youth he mentored is incalculable.

Inducted 2020