Despite changes, Darius McFarland’s passion for BYU is as strong as ever

With less than one week until Signing Day, this usually becomes the time of year when fans and folks like myself here at Rivals, focus all of our attention to the players that remain uncommitted, or the hat ceremony guys as some would call them.

The players that have been committed for months to an institution tend to get forgotten as we approach the day that still gives the fax machine relevance for at least a day, but even that relevance is fading as players can now e-sign their letters of intent and send them electronically.

What a time to be alive, am I right?

The fax machine might be fading away but these early commitments are surely not, and one of those commits who gave his pledge to BYU that people need to get familiar with again is Box Elder defensive end Darius McFarland.

McFarland, a 6’2” 250-pound do-it-all lineman for the Bees committed to BYU last June, and in the eight months since his commitment to the Cougars, a lot has changed with the BYU football program. When Bronco Mendenhall announced he was leaving for Virginia there was mixed feeling for the Box Elder standout.

“Initially, disappointment,” McFarland said. “I had gotten to know him [Bronco] really well. I was really looking forward to playing for him. I loved what he did not just on the football field, but off of it as well.”

That disappointment however didn’t last long when it was announced that Kalani Sitake would be BYU’s next head coach. Those traits that McFarland was drawn to with Mendenhall, he feels will be on display with Sitake as well.

“I’m really looking forward to playing for Coach Sitake. I think he can be the same kind of guy for the players, and for me personally.”

McFarland said that both Bronco & Kalani are soft-spoken men, but Coach Sitake might be a little bit more laid back than Coach Mendenhall. During McFarland’s official visit last weekend to BYU, Coach Sitake displayed a little bit of that laid back style by dancing during the bowling activity with the recruits on the visit.

There might have been dancing at the bowling alley in Provo last weekend, but there wasn’t much dancing for BYU commits like McFarland after seeing some other members of his 2016 class have their scholarship offers pulled when the new coaching staff took over.

“I got very nervous, I think everyone was,” McFarland said. “I was at a basketball tournament and Coach Lamb called me. He told me, ‘hey, we looked over your film as a staff and Coach Sitake liked it.’ It was a big relief when I heard that, because I was on the edge of my seat for awhile.”

Now that McFarland knows this new coaching staff is committed to him, he is as excited as ever to be part of BYU football program.

“I’m so excited. BYU is a great place and so prestigious. I’m going to do work out in the field, and then I’m going to come back and prepare to do work on the field. I just can’t wait.”

Cougar fans will have to wait two years for McFarland to don the pads at BYU, as that work out in the field will come first. McFarland will serve his LDS mission right away and report to the MTC on March 23rd, where he will be serving a Spanish speaking mission in Washington D.C.

When McFarland comes back, expect a player that can potentially play any spot along the defensive line in the 4-3 defense that’ll Sitake & Tuiaki are expected to eventually bring to BYU.

“Having played a 4-3 in high school, I played a 3-technique and a defensive end in that defense. I even played a 1-techique, and a little nose guard as well,” McFarland said.

Coach Kaufusi told McFarland that he envisions Darius gaining a little weight and becoming an inside guy. Whether that’s a 1 or 3-technique is yet to be determined.

On a personal level, McFarland has a lot of goals for himself both on and off the field when he does step foot on campus at BYU. Which is to be expected from a student-athlete that scored a 24 on the ACT and holds a 3.8 GPA while taking AP college courses.

“I just want to come in and compete for playing time right off the bat. Me personally, I feel like I have that ability.” McFarland continued, “BYU is a place that can set you up for multiple things. For me, NFL dreams are obviously there. But I think more important than that, BYU can set you up for a great job, set you up to have a family and to be a great father.”

So unlike the fax machine, don’t plan on Darius McFarland fading away anytime soon. He’s ready to make a difference at BYU in more ways than just football.

Get familiar with McFarland's style of play by watching his senior year highlights here:

Mitch Harper is the Publisher of CougarNation.com and host of the Cougar Center Podcast available on 1320KFAN.com & iTunes. Follow Mitch on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.