Amara Darboh

Amara Darboh
Michigan Wolverines No. 82
Position Wide receiver
Class Senior
Career history
College
High school West Des Moines (IA) Dowling Catholic
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-02-01) February 1, 1994
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 222 lb (101 kg)
Career highlights and awards

Amara Darboh (born February 1, 1994) is an American football wide receiver. He is currently a starter for the 2016 Michigan Wolverines football team. A native of Sierra Leone, Darboh was orphaned during the Sierra Leone Civil War and moved to Iowa at age seven. He enrolled at the University of Michigan and was the Wolverines' leading receiver with 58 catches in 2016.

Early years

Darboh was born in Sierra Leone, Africa, in 1994.[1] As a young child, Darboh's parents were killed, and he left the family's home in Freetown with his siblings to escape the violent Sierra Leone Civil War that left over 50,000 dead.[2][3] The family lived for a time in Gambia and Senegal.[4] The family settled in Iowa when Darboh was seven years old.[2][4] Darboh was taken in by a family in Des Moines and played high school football at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa.[3]

College career

Darboh enrolled at the University of Michigan and has played college football for the Michigan Wolverines starting in 2012. As a true freshman in 2012, he appeared in four games as a backup at wide receiver and 11 games on special teams. He then missed the 2013 season due to a foot injury sustained prior to the start of the season.[5][6][7][8]

Darboh saw his first significant playing time as a redshirt sophomore in 2014. He appeared in 12 games, eight of them as a starter at wide receiver.[5] His best game of the season was against Indiana on November 1, as he had nine receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown.[9] Over the course of the entire 2014 season, Darboh was Michigan's second leading receiver (trailing only Devin Funchess) with 36 receptions for 473 yards and two touchdowns.[10]

As a redshirt junior in 2015, Darboh appeared in 13 games, including nine as a starter at wide receiver.[5] In the season opener against Utah, Darboh had eight receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown. Darboh also became a United States citizen in September 2016.[4][11][12][13] Against Indiana on November 14, he had eight catches for 109 yards and a touchdown. Over the course of the season, he led the Wolverines with 58 receptions, and his 727 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns ranked second among the Michigan receivers, trailing only Jehu Chesson.[14]

In August 2016, prior to the start of the 2016 season, head coach Jim Harbaugh said of Darboh, "I would say he's our top receiver right now."[15] On September 10, 2016, Darboh caught five passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns, including a 45-yard touchdown pass from Wilton Speight in the first quarter.[16][17] On October 29, 2016, he had the best game of his college career, catching eight passes for 165 yards.[18][19] Through the first eight games of the 2016 season, Darboh was the leading Michigan receiver with 38 catches for 664 yards and five touchdowns.[20] During the 2016 season, Darboh was the team's leading receiver with 52 receptions for 826 yards and seven touchdowns. Boasting two 100-yard receiving performances, Darboh ranks fourth in reception yards per game in the Big Ten, averaging 68.8 yards.[21] Following the 2016 season, Darboh was named to the All-Big Ten offensive second-team.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Learn the amazing story of Michigan WR Amara Darboh". Big Ten Network. October 2, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Bob Hamar (August 19, 2016). "Darboh is an American success story". The Grand Island Independent.
  3. 1 2 Kyle Meinke (January 29, 2012). "War-time orphan to big-time football: Michigan recruit Amara Darboh survives to become Freetown's Finest". The Ann Arbor News.
  4. 1 2 3 Larry Lage (September 26, 2015). "Michigan's Darboh Becomes US Citizen and Makes Amazing Catch". Associated Press.
  5. 1 2 3 "Amara Darboh Bio". Mgoblue.com. University of Michigan. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  6. ↑ Nick Baumgardner (March 26, 2015). "Michigan WR Amara Darboh senses big opportunity, but still focused on helping others". Mlive.com.
  7. ↑ Brendan F. Quinn (August 13, 2014). "Amara Darboh hopes to bring a little extra to the Michigan offense, in more ways than one". Mlive.com.
  8. ↑ Kyle Austin (March 27, 2014). "Michigan WR Amara Darboh feels 100 percent after foot injury but still limited in spring practice". Mlive.com.
  9. ↑ Alexa Dettelbach (November 4, 2014). "Amara Darboh: Michigan football's best-kept secret". The Michigan Daily.
  10. ↑ "Michigan Football Statistics (12-game Totals)". Mgoblue.com. University of Michigan. November 29, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ Ricky Lindsay (September 25, 2016). "Darboh's Wild, American Week". The Michigan Journal.
  12. ↑ Mark Snyder (September 27, 2015). "U-M's Darboh finishes long journey to U.S. citizenship". Detroit Free Press.
  13. ↑ "Michigan WR Amara Darboh grateful to become U.S. citizen". Sports Illustrated. September 24, 2015.
  14. ↑ "2015 Michigan Football Statistics (13-game Totals)". Mgoblue.com. University of Michigan. January 1, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  15. ↑ Mark Snyder (August 4, 2016). "Everything finally lined up for U-M receiver Amara Darboh". Detroit Free Press.
  16. ↑ Evan Petzold (September 10, 2016). "Amara Darboh talks chemistry with Wilton Speight". Maize N Brew.
  17. ↑ "Michigan airs it out early in blowout win over UCF". ESPN.com. September 10, 2016.
  18. ↑ George Sipple (October 29, 2016). "Michigan WR Amara Darboh rips apart MSU in last chance to beat rival". Detroit Free Press.
  19. ↑ "Amara Darboh dialed in as Michigan's top receiver, enjoys career day vs. MSU". Mlive.com. October 30, 2016.
  20. ↑ "2016 Michigan Football Statistics (8-game Totals)". Mgoblue.com. University of Michigan. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Peppers, Lewis Lead All 11 Defenders Honored by B1G". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  22. ↑ "2016 Big Ten Individual Award Winners" (PDF). www.grfx.cstv.com. Big Ten Conference. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
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