University of North Texas Athletics
Darden on His Grind
7/3/2020 10:00:00 AM | Football
DENTON – Senior wide receiver Jaelon Darden enters his final season in Denton with his name on several of the program's career leader charts and is expected to continue to climb. His tireless work ethic and energy spent in the film room is a big reason why one of the most dynamic receivers in the country has been so successful with the Mean Green.
"I'm trying to take that next step to better myself as a teammate," Darden said. "I'm passing as much knowledge as I can to everybody in my room, and also to the DBs. I just want to be able to help everyone get better."
He's taken a lot of the time in quarantine this offseason to focus on film. In addition to his own and film of opponents, Darden has spent a lot of time watching a trio of NFL receivers that he follows often – Davante Adams (Green Bay Packers), Doug Baldwin (Seattle Seahawks) and Stefon Diggs (Buffalo Bills). He uses their film to understand how they're defended, why they make the reads they do in certain situations and how he can apply that to his own game.
"Those three guys are my favorite because of their ability to be able to create space at the line, which allows them to do what they do afterwards," Darden said. "That's more of my game, so I've been watching them so I can see how they put together different routes, and keep all of my routes and stems the same way, so you would think I'm doing more than what I really am. Making things easier for myself.
"To be honest, that's mainly the most part I'm looking at to see how the DB is playing. Yeah it's cool to see the receiver get open and do this and that, but at the end of the day, I'm looking at the task and the task is what's in front of me with the DB, so I pay a lot of attention to that.
"Say for instance, I line up two yards inside the hash, nine times out of 10 a DB is very anxious – feet are tapping, hands shaking, so I know they are likely in man coverage because there is no reason he would be so nervous if he's just dropping to a zone. Those kinds of things are going to help me take my game to the next level because at the end of the day it's all mental and not so much physical. You could put in all the work you want physically, but at the end of the day if you don't know football, and how it's played, then it's going to be hard for you."
In addition to an increase in the amount of film he watches, Darden has grown a lot as a leader during his three-plus seasons in Denton. So much of his impact among his teammates comes from within. He says his leadership comes naturally and comes from a desire to motivate and hold himself and his teammates accountable.
His teammates noticed right away.
"He always tried to put in extra work," offensive lineman and roommate Brian Parish said. "Ever since I got here I would always see JD working out on his own and bringing others to work out with him at all times of the day. One of the reasons I chose to live with him is because of his work ethic. I knew that if I ever slacked off, I would have him here to motivate me to continue to work even when nobody else would. Everyone knows how talented he is, but nobody knows the countless hours he spends working out and devoting himself to football."
The Houston native had a tremendous impact in 2019 as a junior, earning all-conference recognition after hauling in 76 receptions for 736 yards and 12 touchdowns. His 12 receiving scores ranked 12th in FBS and were three more than anyone else in the conference (his teammate Jyaire Shorter). Darden tied for the most three-touchdown games by any receiver in the country with two.
His position coach Tommy Mainord has been a key part of Darden's journey in Denton over the past three-plus seasons and lauds Darden's selflessness.
"One thing with JD that I think is worth talking about is how selfless he is in that room," Mainord said. "He wants everybody in our room to be successful and our room is really close. They're really tight, and he's a big part of that. He keeps them together, he holds them accountable, and tries to educate them as much as much as he can."
Mainord and Darden have built a very strong relationship over their time together, and the level of consistency has been a huge component of the success Darden has experienced. There are the obvious aspects on the field, but it's how they've bonded off the field that helps drive that success.
"It's a blessing to be playing under coach Mainord," Darden said. "He really takes the time out to get to know people and sit and talk with you. That's very important to me at the end of the day, I've already got things going on beyond football, so that just makes me want to play for him [that much more] if you can understand that. It makes me want to give 100% every time because I know he cares and I want him to know how much I care too. He's the best coach I've had in football and I've been playing for a long time."
Darden leads an incredibly talented and young group of receivers for the Mean Green including the only other senior, Deion Hair-Griffin, sophomores Jyaire Shorter and Deonte Simpson, Austin Ogunmakin, Greg White and several other talented young players.
Darden credits his maturity and work ethic to his time spent with very talented former Mean Green teammates Michael Lawrence, Jalen Guyton (now with the Los Angeles Chargers) and Rico Bussey, Jr. Lawrence remembers his time alongside Darden fondly.
"One thing about JD from the first day I met him was that he brought energy every single day of practice, film, workouts, you name it," Lawrence said. "If i was having a bad day he was the first person to pick me up. Nobody else works harder than him and the best part of that is he is never satisfied he always wants to perfect his craft and be a better football player and a better teammate. He has a bright future ahead of him, I'm blessed to have been able play with him."
While a lot of the names within the receiving corps may be familiar, the other half of the equation is going to be new. For the first time since the Heart of Dallas Bowl in 2016, the Mean Green will have a different starting quarterback under center.
For Darden, he puts all the trust in his coaches to decide on the best option from that quarterback competition. No matter who wins the job, Darden has always operated the same way. He prides himself on working equally with the quarterback group so that in the event of an injury, a change, or anything of that nature, Darden knows he has a level of familiarity and strong chemistry with each of them.
That approach paid dividends last year, as his work with Jason Bean, who was thrust into action on several occasions yielded very positive results. Darden caught three of his 12 scores from Bean, who is one of several young quarterbacks vying for the starting role in 2020.
Darden enters his senior season with 156 career catches, which ranks sixth in program history, and his 19 career touchdowns are seventh in program history. How high can he climb on those lists? Darden isn't worried about it in the slightest. He only cares about stacking up wins. As one of the elite playmakers in Conference USA, he'll no doubt play a big part in bringing those to the Mean Green fans when the season gets underway.
