SALT LAKE CITY, Sporting Alert — Darren Carrington, who was dismissed from Oregon football program, has transferred to Utah.
Carrington was cut from the Ducks two weeks ago, following his arrest on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence, but the wideout has quickly found a new home, the university confirmed Thursday.
The wide receiver had also been linked to a few other Pac-12 school.
“I wish Darren nothing but the best,” Oregon coach Willie Taggart said in Los Angeles. “Except against us.”
The senior is already in Salt Lake City and will join the team, but he will not be able to be with the Utes on the field because of “paperwork things” with the Pac-12 and NCAA, according to coach Kyle Whittingham.
Whittingham is confident things will eventually clear up, but warned that Carrington will be closely monitored.
“It was very apparent and he would be the first to admit he has done some dumb things, made some bad decisions,” Whittingham said at Pac-12 media days in Los Angeles.
“But he has got the right attitude right now and is bound and determined to put this behind him, move forward, try to have a successful senior year and then hopefully have a chance to move on to the next level.”
Carrington had 43 catches for 606 yards and five touchdowns as a member of the Oregon team last year and has 112 career receptions for 1,919 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Whittingham added: “He is a terrific talent on the field. One of the common denominators from all the people I talked to about Darren was his fierce competitive drive on the field, on the practice field.
“He’s just a guy that is the ultimate competitor and brings a toughness to that receiving position that will help us out.”
“It’s always a tough decision when you talk about a player that you are going to add to your program potentially that has a checkered past,” Whittingham noted.
“You have got to make a decision based on all the information you can gather, based on the athlete’s attitude. Is he remorseful, understand that he has done some stupid things and is ready to put it behind him?
“There is so much that goes into it and it’s a judgment call. You’re not always right but I feel in this case that it was the right thing to do to give Darren another opportunity.”
Utah opens its 2017 College Football campaign at home against North Dakota on August 31, live on the PAC-12 NETWORKS at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Carrington will face his former team when the Utes travel to face Oregon on October 28.
