NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Ty Darlington was well aware of the issues facing college football — concussions, pay-for-play, racial issues, transfer rules to name a few— but felt powerless to do anything.
Not anymore. The 6-foot-3, 286-pound center for Oklahoma overcame nerves and attended a Big 12 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee conference as a favor to the school's director of student athlete development, and now he's known as "The Senator."
The change started after he was encouraged by director Dr. Carol Ludvigson to listen in at the SAAC conference in Dallas. He was reluctant to say much at the time and said the event was something he "had no desire to go to.