Despite the off-field baggage he brings to the table, Darren Carrington‘s talent could very well lead the wide receiver to another shot with a Power Five program -- perhaps even one in his former conference.
Earlier this month, Oregon announced that it had dismissed Carrington, a move that came a couple of weeks after the senior was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants. According to a tweet from The Oregonian‘s John Canzano in the middle of last week, those circumstances are doing little to dissuade others as "[m]ore than one Pac 12 coach told me [last Tuesday] he was interested in... Carrington.”
More to the point, Canzano wrote that “the ex-Ducks receiver spent [last Tuesday] at Utah.”More than one Pac 12 coach told me today he was interested in Darren Carrington... the ex-Ducks receiver spent the day at Utah.
— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) July 19, 2017
Subsequent to that tweet, Carrington’s father, former NFL wide receiver Darren Carrington, confirmed to the Salt Lake Tribune over the weekend that his son had indeed visited Utah as well as received interest from other unnamed Pac-12 schools. The elder Carrington added that a decision on a new home would be coming “very soon.”Then, Tuesday morning, word began to trickle out that Carrington had indeed opted for the Utes, although there’s been no official word from the player, his family or his rumored new program.
Received word last night Darren Carrington is officially a #Ute. Utah making big boy moves on offense this off-season on offense. #GoUtes 🙌🏽
— Michelle Bodkin (@MBodkinScout) July 25, 2017
As Carrington, who expressed disappointment over how his time in Eugene ended, is already a graduate of UO, he would be eligible to play immediately for the Utes, or any other FBS program for that matter -- even one in the Pac-12. Camps all across the country will be kicking off in less than two weeks, which will lead to the Carrington camp expediting the transfer process.
Regardless of where Carrington ends up, his new team will be getting a gifted player with a consistent penchant for finding himself on the wrong side of headlines.
The senior’s 606 yards receiving last year were tops on the team, while his five receiving touchdowns were tied for first. His 43 catches were second on the team as well.
On the flip side, and in addition to his DUII arrest, Carrington was ruled 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.