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Darling to try football again at Washington State

Ex-FSU receiver ready for "his time to shine,'' his sister says. He still faces obstacles.

By BRIAN LANDMAN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 24, 2001

For the first time in his life, former Florida State receiver Devard Darling headed for the football field, this time at Washington State, without his identical twin brother Devaughn by his side.

"The ride to the airport was pretty emotional," his eldest sister, Monique Smith, 32, said in a telephone interview from her home in Sugar Land, Texas. "He cried the whole way. All he kept saying was, "I can't believe I'm going back to school without Devaughn.' "

Devaughn, a freshman linebacker expected to contend for a starting position this season at FSU, collapsed and died after a strenuous offseason conditioning workout in February. He was 18.

"I know it's not an easy thing for Devard to move on," his sister said, "but there's something deep down inside of him, I don't know what it is, that pushes him and forces him to move on. He just keeps on going."

Devard, 19, received a grant-in-aid from Washington State and arrived in Pullman early Wednesday to settle into an apartment with a cousin, Anovio Dixon, who also plans to enroll. Classes begin Monday.

"Devard was rated one of the best high school receivers in the nation two years ago and to say we are delighted he is transferring to Washington State would be an understatement," Cougars coach Mike Price said in a news release. "He is an outstanding young man who will be a great addition to our team. What has happened to Devard and his family is tragic."

FSU coach Bobby Bowden said he hopes it all works out for his former player.

"I released Devard with best wishes; I know he wanted to continue his career," he said.

Members of the Darling family said they have no animosity toward FSU, saying coaches have been supportive and continually have checked in with Devard since he returned home in May.

"It is a bittersweet situation," Smith said.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Darling still must be admitted to Washington State, then must be cleared medically before he can join the Cougars. School officials said they may need a couple of weeks to complete that process.

That might be optimistic given Darling's six-month odyssey.

The autopsy on Devaughn showed "no definite morphological" cause of death. The medical examiner, however, emphasized Devaughn carried the sickle-cell trait, the presence of one abnormal hemoglobin gene.

While the NCAA and many medical experts insist that condition is generally benign, more research has linked the trait to exercise-associated sudden death. The NCAA is re-evaluating its safety guidelines for student-athletes with the trait, partly in response to Darling's death.

As an identical twin, Devard also has the trait. Much to his family's surprise and disappointment, that has been something of a scarlet letter. Despite a battery of screenings that his family said showed no health problems, FSU wouldn't medically clear him to play again, although it held his scholarship so he could continue his education.

Darling requested his release so he could pursue other options. Texas A&M, Tennessee and Arizona invited him to visit.

None would let him play.

Darling kept looking for a new school and visited Purdue and USC and received overtures from Ohio State and Washington. Ultimately, he felt more "comfortable" at Washington State.

How quickly he can join the team might hinge on a report from Dr. Robert J. Myerburg, the director of the Division of Cardiology at the University of Miami. The Darling family sent him tissue samples from Devaughn's heart to test for a virus that could have led to his death. Darling was taking cold medicine. WSU officials have been in contact with Myerburg.

"If the virus is there," Smith said, "there's no underlying question about the health status of these guys."

But she and her family have no trepidation about Devard's health.

"I'll be honest with you, we have absolutely none," Smith said. "Devard and Devaughn have been healthy children all of their lives. They have been playing sports year-round all of their lives, in extreme conditions, including heat, and we've never had any kind of crisis. No blacking out. Nothing like that that would alarm us.

"After Devaughn passed away, we did the tests on Devard, the results came back from Devaughn's autopsy, and there's nothing that would make us believe and there's nothing in our family history that make us question (him playing again)."

Assuming Devard is cleared to play, the school must petition the NCAA to waive the transfer requirement that he sit out a year.

"The last thing I told him before dropping him off at the airport was, "Be patient and when this is over and done with and you look back, you'll be a better person for going through it,' " Smith said. "People will look at you and they'll be the ones who say, "Boy, I should have had a little more faith in that young man.'

"With everything going on at Florida State, losing so many people to injuries, they could have used Devard. This would have been his time to shine. When he gets on the field, he'll prove it, too."

-- Times researchers John Martin and Caryn Baird and Times staff writer Stephanie Scruggs contributed to this report.

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