Former Oregon wide receiver Darren Carrington intends to play at Utah this fall as a graduate transfer, providing the Utes with an 11th-hour addition of one of the Pac-12's most experienced receivers.
Carrington's decision to join the Utes was confirmed by Utah coach Kyle Wittingham on Thursday at Pac-12 Media Days when he discussed what went into the decision to bring in Carrington. Whittingham said Carrington is on Utah's campus but still needs to clear procedural hurdles before he can compete, per The Oregonian's Andrew Grief.
The transfer was first reported by Michelle Bodkin of Scout.
"It's a case by case basis. You can't treat every case the same because there's different dynamics, different circumstances," Wittingham told Pac-12 Network. "What you do is ... the first thing you do is do your homework. Talk to all the peripheral people in his life and the people that have been close to him. And then, obviously, Darren's attitude and his take on what's transpired. Is there remorse? Is it a good kid that's made some bad decisions or is it just a bad kid? As a coach, you have to make that judgment. You're not right 100 percent of the time, but you just go with what you think is your gut feel and go with it."
Carrington was dismissed from the Oregon program earlier this month following his June arrest for driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII). He was the Ducks' leading receiver last season with 43 catches and 606 receiving yards, and was a regular in the Oregon receiving rotation for three years. For his career, Carrington has recorded 112 catches for 1,919 yards and 15 touchdowns.
He gave some consideration to entering the 2017 NFL Draft, but decided in January to return to play one more season under new Oregon coach Willie Taggart.
Carrington comes to Utah with a history of disciplinary issues at Oregon. He was suspended for the College Football Playoff title game against Ohio State, plus the first five games of the 2015 season, after reportedly failing a drug test, and was cited for an open container violation in 2015.
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