Virginia gains Harvard’s leading rusher Darrington for 2021 season

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia gained a new member to its running back position on Monday, but the Cavaliers will have to wait a year.

Devin Darrington, Harvard’s leading rusher in 2019, announced on Twitter that he will be transferring to Virginia after he graduates from the Ivy League school next May. He will not arrive in Charlottesville until after that time, so he would be a member of UVA’s 2021 team.

At 5-foot-9, 205 pounds, Darrington was second-team All-Ivy League in 2019 after rushing for 734 yards (102 carries) over the course of the Crimson’s 10-game schedule. He also scored seven touchdowns. In 2018, he was second on the team in rushing with 435 yards in 70 attempts, along with five TDs.

Darrington, who is from Forest Hill, Md. (Bullis School), was named to Phil Steele’s 2020 preseason All-Ivy second team.

I’ve been extremely blessed & would like to thank everybody who has been supporting me throughout this journey. Thank you to all the schools recruiting me during this time. After graduating from Harvard I will be continuing my journey at the University of Virginia 🔶⚔️🔷 #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/UTIQpO0wmH

— Devin 🐶⚡️ (@d_dking34) September 7, 2020

Darrington plans to sit out this season, complete his Harvard degree, and have two years of eligibility remaining. He decided to transfer after the Ivy League became the first collegiate athletic conference to announce that it would cancel its 2020 football season.

According to a report from NBC Sports, several SEC and ACC schools reached out to Darrington.

“To possibly have two years of eligibility at a Power 5 school while working on my master’s degree is a great opportunity,” Darrington told NBC.