Bond of Brothers

They always shared a room.

After all, Devard and Devaughn Darling had shared a womb, Devard emerging first and Devaughn right behind, his hand on Devard’s ankle.

“I mean, sometimes I don’t fully understand when I hear twins say, ‘Oh, leave me alone’ to the other twin, or ‘Give me some space,’ ” said Devard Darling, a sophomore receiver at Washington State. “That was crazy to me and Devaughn. It was like I was looking at him, seeing me. And that’s the same way he felt about me. So it’s like part of me is laying on the ground right now.”

They were almost always together. And so Devard was nearby on the day Devaughn died, collapsing on Feb. 26, 2001, after a strenuous off-season workout at Florida State, where the identical twins were freshmen football players.

The Leon County medical examiner found no definitive cause of death, but noted the presence of a sickle cell trait that affects one in 12 African Americans and is linked by some studies to rare but sudden exercise-related death.

Devard, whose parents have filed a wrongful death suit against Florida State claiming errors by coaches and trainers supervising the workout, was alone for the first time in his life.

Even his birthday became a day to endure, though his family made sure to surround him.

“I remember the first birthday,” Devard said. “Our birthday is April 16th, and you know, that’s just a few months after he died. It was the first time in my whole life I had my birthday alone.”

Watch Darling against USC on Saturday and see a player who says he no longer feels completely alone.

He is on the field again after transferring to Washington State and receiving clearance to play following exhaustive medical tests.

“It was something I’d been waiting for a long time,” said Darling, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound sophomore who has 28 receptions and seven touchdowns in five games.

“At the same time, it was very bittersweet for me. I missed having Devaughn out there with me. It was a real emotional time for me before and after the first game.”

Jason Gesser, Washington State’s quarterback, watches closely.

“Any time he gets in the end zone or makes a play, it’s like he wants to do something good, not only for himself,” Gesser said.

Devard says he plays for two.

“Even though Devaughn is not with me, I feel it’s something I need to do. For both of us.

“It just comforts me right now, knowing he’s with me. I know he would never leave me like that. We just always had that communication, even if he was just going downstairs or going down the hall or something, he would tell me. I know he would never leave.”

*

Following Devaughn’s death, Florida State refused to allow Devard to play for the Seminoles again, offering to continue his scholarship if he wanted to stay in school.

“When I first heard some speculation like I couldn’t play anymore, when some doctors were trying to tell me I couldn’t play, it was like having two deaths,” Darling said. “It was like taking away the two things in my life I loved the most, playing football and Devaughn.”

Florida State, because of the pending lawsuit, would not comment about the case except for general counsel Richard McFarlain’s assertion that the school does not believe it is liable for Devaughn’s death.

“I think the doctors at Florida State, when something happened, just put up their defenses right away,” said the twins’ mother, Wendy Hunter. “They didn’t even have the autopsy before they said he couldn’t play.”

As his brother did, Devard carries the sickle cell trait, a generally benign condition that was detected during routine physicals when the twins arrived at Florida State.

The condition, in which only one sickle cell gene is present, is not the same as sickle cell anemia, a more serious condition caused by two inherited sickle cell genes. But during extreme exercise, some studies say, the sickle cell trait appears to lower resistance to a possible irregular heartbeat.

The NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook addresses it, stating that athletes who carry the trait should be closely monitored but “no unwarranted restrictions or limitations should be placed on the student-athlete with sickle cell trait.”

One twin was gone, but after a Houston cardiologist conducted a stress test, an EKG and other tests and found no problems, the Darling family supported Devard’s desire to continue his career.

“It’s not like [Devaughn] had some heart defect, just a sickle cell trait, not something you can’t live with or play sports with,” Hunter said. “So I have no fear about Devard playing.”

Though Washington State wasn’t his only offer, Florida State was not the only team that didn’t have a place for him.

Among the schools Darling visited was USC, but NCAA rules generally provide only for an exam by a team physician during recruiting, and after no additional medical tests were conducted, the courtship went nowhere.

“The one that really got to me was Tennessee,” said Darling, who did not undergo tests at Tennessee. “I went up there for a visit, and they helped me look for apartments and everything. The scholarship was supposed to be there. When I got back from the trip, they called me and Coach [Phillip] Fulmer tried to give me the excuse one of the players they didn’t think was going to make it academically made it in. So they didn’t have any scholarships left.... But you know, Coach Fulmer and [Florida State Coach Bobby] Bowden are good friends and they spoke, so whatever was said, I guess he didn’t feel comfortable.”

A Tennessee spokesman would not comment except to say Darling made an official visit and did not enroll.

Washington State decided to give Darling a chance, but only following his enrollment and three months of medical tests was he cleared.

“It took some time, but it was thoroughly investigated by everyone, our legal department of the university, team physicians, a corps of team physicians and a corps of team trainers and our attorney general’s office,” Washington State Coach Mike Price said.

Darling grew frustrated as he waited.

“It was like I felt every second I had a doctor on me, checking me out or doing some kind of test,” he said.

Gesser saw the struggle.

“He was like, ‘J, I just want to play, man. They just won’t let me play. Nothing’s wrong with me,’ ” Gesser said.

One of the cardiologists who examined Darling became one of his biggest backers.

“He was really adamant about allowing him to play,” Price said. “He just really felt like not allowing this kid to play would be a crushing blow to the kid.”

Washington State trainer Bill Drake said he closely monitors Darling, much as he does a group of other players.

“People always ask that, are we nervous with him out here?” Drake said. “Not any more than any of the rest of the guys. We have a handful of players, 10 or 12 players who are on a special watch group--asthma, diabetes, sickle cell, whatever it might be.

“After the work-up that had been done, all the stress echocardiograms, and especially with the cardiologist in Seattle signing off on him, we felt real confident.”

Bowden, the Florida State coach, told the Orlando Sentinel in September he is watching from afar, wishing Darling success.

“I’m not sure how many parents, if they lost a twin, would let the other one play,” Bowden said. “But I think it’s going to be a legacy of a brave man that had the mission once he lost his brother to eulogize him any way he could.”

*

On first sight, the rolling golden hills of the Palouse did nothing for Darling.

“When I first came out here, I was like, ‘Where are they taking me?’ ” he said. “It’s nothing but wheat fields for miles and miles and then boom, out of nowhere, Pullman.”

A cousin about the same age, Anovio Dixon, lived with him for a semester last fall as Darling awaited a decision that he could begin practicing during his redshirt year.

Often, Darling thought about Florida State.

“I mean, in my heart that’s where I want to be,” he said. “You know, my brother was buried in a Seminoles’ uniform. I’m always going to have strong feelings for them. That’s just for the players. The coaches and the administration, that’s a whole other different story.

“I felt that he was pushed over the limit. In those drills, we were denied water. That’s the most important factor right there. They just pushed him over the limit, point blank.”

(An investigation by Florida State’s university police found no wrongdoing by coaches or trainers.)

This year, Darling lives alone.

“I think that way he can feel that Devaughn is still there,” his mother said.

“When I watch him play on TV, it’s just so overwhelming. It’s such a blessing for him to be out there and go on with his life after such a loss.”

When Devard goes home to Texas, he finds a shrine by his mother’s door.

“Devaughn’s Florida State helmet, all the plaques from high school,” his mother said. “Every time Devard comes home, he puts on Devaughn’s helmet. It used to be hard to see him coming home and not see them both.

“I’m just so glad he’s able to go on.”