Darlington committed to playing college football at Oklahoma in 2011, a school that he grew up a fan of as his mother was a cheerleader for the Sooners.[1] While at Oklahoma, he took part in a number of activities, where he was a leader of a Fellowship of Christian Athletes group, a vice chairman on the Student-Athletes Advisory Committee at OU, and a team captain for football.[2] He was also a stellar student-athlete, compiling a 3.91 cumulative GPA while at Oklahoma, the only non-A he received being a B in a strength & conditioning course.[3] As a senior, he racked up awards, being named the recipient of the William V. Campbell Trophy, an award that considered the student-athlete equivalent of the Heisman Trophy and the Wuerffel Trophy, an award given to the player who combines community service with athletics and academics.[4][5] He was also named to the 2015 All-Big 12 Conference first-team.[6]
Darlington signed a professional contract with the Tennessee Titans after going undrafted in 2016, but did not make the team.[8] He retired from professional football shortly after and joined the athletics department at his alma mater Oklahoma as an administrative fellow and for Sooner Sports TV.[9]
Coaching career
Darlington joined the Oklahoma coaching staff in 2017 as an offensive quality control coach.[10] He was reassigned to a graduate assistant role in 2020.[11]