By Matt Popchock

(mpopchock@kdka.com)

As originally reported by 93.7 The Fan’s Dan Zangrilli, Montour senior running back Julian Durden has verbally committed to Kent State.

Durden had hinted early in the season he had his heart set on a number of MAC programs, including the Golden Flashes, Ohio, and Temple. He had also received interest from Pitt.

His career path is amusingly similar to that of not one, but two Pittsburgh Central Catholic tailbacks.

Central’s Damion Jones-Moore, who had also been courted by MAC schools, recently declared his allegiance to Toledo. He and Durden have both reached the 4,000-career-yard plateau this season, and oddly enough, they had identical 2011 stat lines entering Week 8, per records kept by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

One of Jones-Moore’s predecessors, Eugene Jarvis, starred at Central Catholic at the turn of the century before going on to his own successful college career at Kent. Jarvis also belongs to the WPIAL’s 4,000 rushing yard club.

Durden, who transferred from North Catholic after his sophomore campaign, ranks 53rd among tailbacks nationally by MaxPreps, and was No. 39 on Rivals.com’s preseason top 40 for Pennsylvania. He’s one of the top rushers in Class AAA this fall with 1,075 yards and 20 total TD’s through Week 8.

(Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mpopchock)