Darryl Sharpton is a communicator.
With inside linebacker Brian Cushing out for the remainder of the season, Sharpton's got the green dot.
The green dot, of course, is on the back of his helmet.
That green dot, if you didn't know, is used for the helmets with radio headsets inside them. Quarterback Case Keenum has one. And Sharpton, who relays the play calls from defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, has one as well.
He's well-versed in calling the defensive plays that come into his earpiece. But he's not just fluent in English and football.
Sharpton speaks Spanish as well.
"I learned most of it from elementary school," Sharpton said. "All my classes were in Spanish, including math."
Growing up in Miami, the inside linebacker attended the North Dade Center for Modern Languages, before moving on to Carver Middle School and then the I.B. program at Coral Gables High School.
As a Hurricane, he also was enrolled in some Spanish classes, en route to a degree in finance.
"I took it at Miami so I could get a good grade," Sharpton said. "I ended up with a B. The grammar and conjugation tripped me up. Most of it I learned when I was in elementary and middle school, and it just stuck with me."
Sharpton said he's gotten a little rusty with the language being away from home.
"In Miami, I use it all the time, but not so much in Houston," Sharpton said. "In Houston, English is the first language. In Miami, not even a joke, Spanish is the first language."
When he has children, Sharpton plans on getting his kids in the similar programs he studied.
"Definitely," Sharpton said. "I'll put them in the language program. Put it in their minds. Young sponges."
