Devard Darling
Encyclopedia
Devard Loran Darling is a Bahamian-American wide receiver
of American football
who is currently a member of the Houston Texans
. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens
in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Florida State University
and Washington State
. His twin brother, Devaughn Darling, died in 2001 due to football practice conditions at Florida State.
Darling has also played for the Kansas City Chiefs
.
in Sugar Land, Texas
and won three varsity letters in football
, two in track
, and one in basketball
. In football, he won All-District honors and was named the 28th best prospect in the state of Texas
by SuperPrep. He also attended the Nassau Christian Academy before relocating to the United States
. He is the younger brother of Bahamian track athlete Dennis Darling
and the brother-in-law of his wife Tonique Williams-Darling
.
until the death of his identical twin brother, Devaughn Darling. After his brother died during a practice, due to exhaustion, possibly tied to a sickle cell trait
, FSU doctors would not clear him medically to return to the football
team. He subsequently transferred to Washington State University, and finished his career with 105 receptions
for 1,630 yards (15.7 yards per reception average) and 30 receiving touchdowns.
in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft
. He signed a three-year contract worth about $1.5 million with the team on July 26, 2004. He was placed on injured reserve
on October 29 due to a heel injury. Darling missed most of 2005 and 2006 to injuries as well.
He was tendered to a one-year contract worth $850,000 on March 1, 2007. On September 27, he was fined $7,500 by the league for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he received in week 3 after following Yamon Figurs
into the stands following a touchdown. He had a breakout game on November 18, 2007 against the Cleveland Browns
with four catches for 107 yards and his first NFL touchdown.
Darling has 20 catches for 331 yards and three touchdown
s in his career with the Ravens.
. On September 7, Darling broke free for what looked to be a game-tying touchdown against the New England Patriots
, but he was tackled on 5-yard line. Kansas City ended up losing the game. He ultimately would score only one touchdown while with the Chiefs. He was placed on injured reserve
on September 1, 2009. He was released by the Chiefs on March 3, 2010.
of the United Football League on September 8, 2010.
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
of American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
who is currently a member of the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft
2004 NFL Draft
The 2004 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24-25, 2004 at the theater at Madison Square Garden...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
and Washington State
Washington State Cougars football
The Washington State Cougars football team is the intercollegiate football team of Washington State University. The team is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference...
. His twin brother, Devaughn Darling, died in 2001 due to football practice conditions at Florida State.
Darling has also played for the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
.
Early years
Born in the Bahamas, Darling attended Stephen F. Austin High SchoolAustin High School (Sugar Land, Texas)
Stephen F. Austin High School is a secondary school located in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas and is named after Stephen F. Austin, who helped lead the Anglo American colonization of Texas, and many regard as "The Father of Texas." The school happens to be only miles from Austin's original...
in Sugar Land, Texas
Sugar Land, Texas
Sugar Land is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and Fort Bend County. Sugar Land is one of the most affluent and fastest-growing cities in Texas, having grown more than 158 percent in the last decade. In the time period of 2000–2007, Sugar Land also enjoyed a...
and won three varsity letters in football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, two in track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, and one in basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. In football, he won All-District honors and was named the 28th best prospect in the state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
by SuperPrep. He also attended the Nassau Christian Academy before relocating to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He is the younger brother of Bahamian track athlete Dennis Darling
Dennis Darling
Dennis Darling is a Bahamian athlete who specializes in the 400 metres. He is currently track and field Assistant Coach at Texas Christian University....
and the brother-in-law of his wife Tonique Williams-Darling
Tonique Williams-Darling
Tonique Williams-Darling is a Bahamian sprint athlete. She won the gold medal in the 400 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.-College:...
.
College career
Darling attended Florida State UniversityFlorida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
until the death of his identical twin brother, Devaughn Darling. After his brother died during a practice, due to exhaustion, possibly tied to a sickle cell trait
Sickle cell trait
Sickle cell trait describes a condition in which a person has one abnormal allele of the hemoglobin beta gene , but does not display the severe symptoms of sickle cell disease that occur in a person who has two copies of that allele...
, FSU doctors would not clear him medically to return to the football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team. He subsequently transferred to Washington State University, and finished his career with 105 receptions
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
for 1,630 yards (15.7 yards per reception average) and 30 receiving touchdowns.
Baltimore Ravens
Devard Darling was drafted by the Baltimore RavensBaltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft
2004 NFL Draft
The 2004 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24-25, 2004 at the theater at Madison Square Garden...
. He signed a three-year contract worth about $1.5 million with the team on July 26, 2004. He was placed on injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
on October 29 due to a heel injury. Darling missed most of 2005 and 2006 to injuries as well.
He was tendered to a one-year contract worth $850,000 on March 1, 2007. On September 27, he was fined $7,500 by the league for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he received in week 3 after following Yamon Figurs
Yamon Figurs
Yamon Figurs is an American football wide receiver and return specialist who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
into the stands following a touchdown. He had a breakout game on November 18, 2007 against the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
with four catches for 107 yards and his first NFL touchdown.
Darling has 20 catches for 331 yards and three touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s in his career with the Ravens.
Kansas City Chiefs
On March 11, 2008, Darling signed a three-year contract with the Kansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
. On September 7, Darling broke free for what looked to be a game-tying touchdown against the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, but he was tackled on 5-yard line. Kansas City ended up losing the game. He ultimately would score only one touchdown while with the Chiefs. He was placed on injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
on September 1, 2009. He was released by the Chiefs on March 3, 2010.
Omaha Nighthawks
Darling was signed by the Omaha NighthawksOmaha Nighthawks
The Omaha Nighthawks are a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which plays in the United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010. For their first season, the Nighthawks played their home games at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium before moving to TD...
of the United Football League on September 8, 2010.
External links
- Kansas City Chiefs bio
- Washington State Cougars bio
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DEFD71E31F937A2575AC0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
- The story of the Darling twins was related at length in the article "Soul Survivor" by Gary Smith for Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
[December 2, 2002 issue], later reprinted in the book The Greatest Football Stories Ever Told (pp. 19–37), Ed. Eric Noe.