CHICAGO – As a star football player, Darius Hamilton knows something about tough losses.
Like when Zayn Malik stunningly left One Direction, the pop-singing boy band with the mostly screaming teenage girl fan base.
“I was heartbroken for a week,” Rutgers defensive tackle and captain said Friday in all seriousness. “I’m being honest with you: That was probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with in a while.”
By the time Hamilton met with local reporters for the first time at Big Ten media days, his name already was trending toward viral because of an ESPN video clip in which he professed his love of One Direction.