Huge news has come out of Eugene just a couple of weeks before Willie Taggart kicks off his first summer camp at Oregon.
Late last month, Darren Carrington was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants. At the time, the football program announced that the star wide receiver had been indefinitely suspended.
Two weeks later, Taggart made the jarring announcement Friday night that Carrington has been dismissed from the Ducks.
“I have visited with Darren Carrington and informed him that he is no longer a member of our program,” the head coach said in a statement. “We will always consider Darren a Duck and support him in any way we can. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
The development involving the veteran serves as a huge blow to the Ducks’ passing attack.
The senior’s 606 yards receiving last year was tops on the team, while his five receiving touchdowns were tied for first. His 43 catches were second on the team.
While this was Carrington’s first off-field issue under Taggart, the arrest continued a pattern of askew behavior away from the gridiron.
Carrington was ineligible for Oregon’s College Football Playoff Championship loss to Ohio State a couple of years ago, was cited for open container in October 2015 and was accused of breaking a man’s arm in a Halloween incident last year.