Boys Town senior Darien moved from Baltimore, Maryland, to Nebraska entering his freshman year.
Darien was in middle school when COVID hit. He struggled academically in seventh and eighth grade which limited his options for high school.
His mother, Jayme Delly tells First Alert 6 she wanted to give her son a second chance. While playing youth football a coach put her into contact with Boys Town.
“It was the best decision I could have ever made,” said Delly.
Darien has lived with Jessica and David Huffman since the end of his sophomore year. Jayme tells First Alert 6 the Huffman’s have helped keep Darien on track.
“They mean everything to me. They treat my child as if he was one of their own,” said Delly.
While living in Maryland, Jayme is very involved with Darien. She receives updates and has constant contact with her son as he lives in the Cornhusker State.
Jessica says the future Wildcat is a great role model for his other housemates at home. “He is the leader of the house he really is, “said Huffman.
Boys Town head football coach Chris Nizzie says Darien is a leader off the field as well. He tells First Alert 6 while at lunch, the linebacker noticed a new student was sitting alone. Darien got up from a table full of his friends and walked over to the student and sat down so she wouldn’t be alone.
“He is a very sweet and caring young man,” said Nizzie.
Coach Nizzie says the star linebacker has grown to control his emotions on the field.
“Over the four years, he’s really grown and be able to focus that energy and those emotions into something productive,” said Nizzie.
It was that talent on the gridiron that landed him multiple offers from schools like Washington State and South Florida. Eventually, Darien landed on Kansas State and on Wednesday he signed on the dotted line.
“I visited Kansas State more than I visited anywhere else,” said Darien. “I think it was the only place I visited actually. The community, Saturday nights, its electric, its fun.”
Darien has been a role model for his younger siblings back home, especially his 12 year old brother Kobe who Jayme says is headed to Boys Town as well.
“He looks up to Darien for everything, He means everything to Darien. He loves him so much.”
Darien will finish out the rest of his senior season at Boys Town. He plans to major in Psychology when he attends Kansas State in the fall.
Darien is the most recent Boys Town football player to receive a division one opportunity. Former Boys Town Cowboy and 2x Super Bowl champion Shaquil Barrett attended University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2010, before transferring to Colorado State the following season after the Mavericks ended its football program.
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