On the field and in the classroom, Chris Durr has always been taught to take the long view.
The Morgan Park senior has been a varsity mainstay since he was a freshman during the pandemic-delayed 2021 spring season.
But though he has 11 Division I offers as a wide receiver, Durr didn’t start always play offense for the No. 17 Mustangs (4-1).
“When I first came into high school, I thought [it] was about just catching the ball and scoring touchdowns,” he said. “But it’s more than that. You’ve got to block, you’ve got to be there for your team. ... You can’t be selfish.”
Morgan Park coach Chris James taught Durr those values by playing him at defensive back in the fall 2021 season.
“That made me get tough and I stepped up and did my job,” Durr said. “Next year I came on offense and I was an all-state receiver.”
This was an apple that didn’t fall far from the tree. Durr’s father, also named Chris, was a talented receiver, first at Harper and then at North Park.
“He’s a very big influence,” the younger Durr said. “He’s the reason why I’m good. And I just thank him. He’s just pushing me to be better than he was and pushing me to do things he couldn’t do.”
James knew the elder Durr from their days playing against each other in the Public League, and he knew the younger Durr could be better than his dad.
“Chris was born to be a receiver,” James said.
And he has the drive to be a good one. Morgan Park has an on-campus practice field with artificial turf and stadium lights, and Durr always wants to take full advantage of it.
“Chris will text me at 10:30 at night and ask me to [turn] on the lights,” James said. “Over the summer he was consistent at that.”
With national signing day still about three months away on Dec. 20, Durr’s recruiting remains open. His 11 Division I offers include one from a Power Five school (Louisville) and one from the Ivy League (Penn). Illinois and Rutgers also have shown interest, and one of his official visits will be to Wyoming.
He’s particularly proud of the Penn offer, given that not many football players fit the academic profile of an Ivy League recruit.
“My mom instilled that in me,” he said of his drive to succeed in the classroom. “She told me, ‘There’s a life after football. You always want to have a backup plan.’
“So I just take school as serious as possible like my mama did and do the best I can.”
Though Durr has proved himself as an elite receiver at the high school level, he and James know some recruiters will focus on his size: 5-11, 160 pounds.
James doesn’t see that as an issue.
“He’s been a four-year varsity starter even when he was 5-8, 130,” James said.
Playing defense as a sophomore was designed to answer skeptics about Durr’s ability to play in Division I.
“I wanted to make him a better blocker,” James said. “He’s like, ‘I play receiver, I catch the ball.’ I was like, ‘You are small. The one question everybody is going to have about you is can you block?’”
Being told he’s too small to play at the highest level of college football fuels Durr.
“It definitely gives us motivation,” he said. “You can say I’m little. But when I’m on that field it’s way different than what you think.”
