Devin Darrington wants to go into law, maybe real estate, but he’s not done with football, so when his senior season at Harvard was lost when the Ivy League canceled for 2020, he put his name into the transfer portal.
“It was the best decision for me to graduate with that degree and have a chance to play football in the ACC. I felt like that was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” said Darrington, who landed at Virginia this summer after finishing out his degree in government in May.
A second-team All-Ivy tailback in 2019, after leading Harvard with 734 rushing yards, Darrington is a fringe NFL prospect – Pro Football Focus graded him out at 70.4 for his junior season at Harvard in 2019, and 77.8 in his limited action to date at UVA in 2021.
His productivity in the Week 7 48-0 win over Duke – Darrington ran for 60 yards and a TD on five carries, with a 7-yard third-quarter TD – might see him getting more of a chance to showcase his talents in the crowded backfield situation at UVA.
“Personally, I’m never really afraid of any competition,” Darrington said. “I mean, I know everywhere I would have went, there would have been a battle, a competition, so on that aspect, I’m not afraid of it. I was just really excited to come to a program just to make a difference and leave my mark and just help anywhere I can.”
To that end, Darrington has played 59 snaps on special teams, on kick and punt returns and punt coverage.
“I’m trying to get to the next level anyway, and no matter what I’ve got to do, run the ball, block, catch, special teams, whatever I’ve got to do, I’m really just, after the COVID year, just having a chance to play ball again, just touching the rock just felt great. Just getting back out there and to be able to play football on such a high level is a great thing and just a blessing,” Darrington said.
That attitude “just means he’s a great fit at UVA,” Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall said.
“Any chance you have to be on the field for UVA, we think, is a privilege, and I have a basic principle that when a graduate transfer is being considered. I have to like him, and like him means unselfish. He certainly is, but he’s also fiercely competitive and has high standards for himself, so he’s been a great fit so far,” Mendenhall said.
He showed explosiveness on his five carries in the win over Duke – runs of 5 and 12 yards on a second-quarter drive, then a 34-yard run that almost went to the house ahead of the TD run on back-to-back runs on a third-quarter drive.
Mendenhall called the Darrington TD run “one of my favorite plays of the year.”
“Harvard education with a UVA education with touchdown carries, that’s a good spot to be in,” Mendenhall said.
What we saw on Saturday was what Mendenhall expected when his staff reached out to Darrington over the winter to gauge his interest in matriculating on Grounds.
“Graduate transfer recruitment is really different than regular recruitment, but just productivity and toughness and physicality, and the same things that we saw in the runs that he had on Saturday. He’s tough, and he’s physical, and he’s productive,” Mendenhall said.
“Anytime a player arrives, especially if they don’t arrive mid-year as a grad transfer, it’s tough to get up to speed and within the scheme and adjusted and execution-sound, especially if there’s competition early season, and so Devin is just coming into his own,” Mendenhall said. “The capability has always been there, right, it’s just getting adjusted and having the opportunities and earning the opportunities. But man, he ran really well on Saturday.”
Darrington is working toward a master’s in leadership and public policy, with plans to pursue law school after football is done.
For the record, he’s not ready for football to be done anytime soon.
“I try not to have any negative thoughts, especially during the game, really, just whenever my number’s called, just do whatever I can make the most out of my opportunity, whatever helps the team win, I’ve got to support it,” Darrington said. “I would love to run the ball more, but hey, you know, like I said, whatever helps the team win, and you know, it’s my guy, so I’m supporting him all the way, and whenever I get my number called, I’ve just got to make sure I do what I have to do to make sure I make the best out of my opportunity.”
Story by Chris Graham
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