Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/703041
U P C L O S E & P E R S O N A L Darien finds the right fit with Nittany Lions | F or a good part of his senior season, Baltimore native Dae'lun Darien knew he would likely end up spending the next four years of his life in Pennsylvania. But it wasn't until his season was over that he had to choose which town. A 6-foot-4, 204-pound wide receiver, Darien had the attention of nearly a dozen mid-Atlantic programs leading up to his 9nal season at Dunbar High. Of those schools, Connecticut, Syracuse and Tem- ple ultimately became the most serious contenders, as all three extended o:ers a;er reviewing his 9lm from the 9rst few games. At about the same time, the Owls were gearing up for arguably the biggest game in their history, as Notre Dame was set to visit Lincoln Financial Field for a na- tionally televised prime time showdown at the end of October. It was the perfect opportunity for Temple to put itself in the driver's seat with Darien. He was at- tending the game, and when the Owls nearly pulled off one of the season's bigger upsets, falling 24-20 after a late rally by the Irish, he couldn't help but be impressed. "I remember leaving there thinking that Temple was de9nitely the right school for me," Darien said. "It was a program on the rise and it was located in the city, which I'm used to. I just liked what they had to o:er." Darien went on to commit to head coach Matt Rhule less than two weeks later. But what he didn't know at the time was that another Pennsylvania program with a more celebrated history was starting to take a serious interest in him. "I was talking to Coach [Sean] Spencer during the season and even back to my junior year, but a;er I committed to Tem- ple, that's when Coach [James] Franklin started talking to me more. That's when Penn State started showing a lot of inter- est." As the weeks progressed, Darien became much more comfortable with Franklin and the rest of the offensive staff, but he made it clear that he wasn't going to travel to University Park unless the staff decided to extend an offer. After a few weeks of deliberation during the holiday dead period, Franklin and his assistants decided to do just that, offering Darien on Jan. 19. Just 10 days later, Darien stepped on campus for the first time. With signing day looming, he had roughly 48 hours to make a decision. It didn't take nearly that long. "It was on my mind all night when I went home," he said. "I wanted to switch and I also didn't want it to drive me crazy for two days, so I called up the [Nittany Lion] sta: a;er school and got it done. I couldn't pass up a school like Penn State. It has so much history, but it also has a bright future. Plus, playing in front of all of those fans, I just couldn't pass that up." Speaking of events that he couldn't pass up, Darien also participated in the annual Big 33 Classic in Hershey, Pa., last month. He was a late addition to the Maryland roster, joining coach DaLawn Parrish's team a;er another player was injured on the 9rst day of practice. Parrish called him within a few hours of the injury, but Darien didn't arrive in camp until the Wednesday before the game and had only 9ve practices in which to learn the entire Maryland o:ense. "I was so impressed with how quickly he picked up on everything," Parrish said. "The rest of the team had a playbook for weeks. They also had twice as many prac- tices, but he still stepped in and did a great job for us. You can tell he has a high IQ." Pennsylvania went on to win the game, 26-14, but Darien made an impact, catch- ing a 35-yard touchdown pass on a fade route in the fourth quarter. It was Mary- land's only o:ensive touchdown. "To get out there and put the pads on again, that was a lot of fun," Darien said. "The game played a lot faster than a normal high school game, so I think that's some- thing I'll really take away from that game. Games are even faster in college, so it was good to get a feel for that. I also learned some things from the best [high school] coaches in Maryland. It'll only help me when I start camp in August." ■ Visit bluewhiteonline.com to see video of Darien in action. THE DARIEN FILE STATS Finished with 50 receptions for 700 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior... Helped Dunbar High go 10-4 and win the state Class 2A championship as a junior... Also competed on the basketball and track teams at Dunbar HONORS Named a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 31 player in Maryland... Invited to play in the Big 33, Maryland Crab Bowl and O/ense-Defense All-Star games... Received Small School All-State honors following his senior season Penn State Athletics