Last year, Darren Carrington was the Ducks’ leading receiver. This year, he is still the leading receiver on a Pac-12 team, but that team is the University of Utah.
Head coach Willie Taggart dismissed Carrington from the football team early this summer after he was charged with a DUI.
“You have to abide by the rules, and when you break the rules, there are consequences,” Taggart said.
Carrington quickly found a new home in Salt Lake City with the Utes; however, he still considers Eugene home too.
“Oregon, that was my school growing up, most definitely,” Carrington told reporters this week. “That was my home for the last four years. I still consider it a home,”
Now, Taggart and the Ducks will face off against a Utah team that is led offensively by Carrington. Despite the hype surrounding the reunion, Taggart says that isn’t the team’s focus.
Oregon Ducks wide receiver Darren Carrington II (7) kneels as the Washington Huskies run onto the field. The Oregon Ducks host the No. 5 Washington Huskies at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. on Oct. 8, 2016. (Kaylee Domzalski/Emerald)
“I don’t think we’re going in and saying, ‘We’ve got to stop Darren Carrington,’” Taggart said. “We’ve got to go and play better than what we’ve played no matter who is on that other side of the ball. Our mindset as a team right now is that we’ve got to get ourselves right. It’s not about who we’re playing. It’s about us.”
Carrington not only leads the Utes in total receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, but he also leads the Pac-12 in average receiving yards per game with 92.7 yards. He has scored more than half of the Utes’ receiving touchdowns this season.
The Oregon defense has made tremendous improvements this year, but the Ducks’ secondary defense will face a big challenge defending Carrington’s versatility.
Lamar Winston Jr., who had a career-high 11 tackles against UCLA last week, isn’t sure what defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt’s plan is to stop Carrington, but he said that whatever it is, the Ducks are going to execute it.
“We’ve got to do something,” Winston Jr. said. “We’ll figure it out. Coach Leavitt is a genius, so we’ll figure it out.”
Carrington told reporters this week that he is expecting boos upon his return to Autzen, but he welcomes the “us against the world” mentality.
“It’s just another day of football, honestly,” Carrington told reporters. “I played so many times in that stadium. It’s just, let’s go again.”
Carrington’s return to Autzen will also give Oregon players a chance to reconnect with their former teammate. The receptions he’ll get, though, may be mixed.
“I probably won’t talk to him much,” said cornerback Arrion Springs, who added that he doesn’t talk much during games in the first place. “Probably after the game.”
Carrington and safety Tyree Robinson grew up playing in the same area down in Southern California. The two continued their friendship during their time at Oregon. But Robinson considers himself a competitor, and said he won’t take it easy on his former teammate.
“I’m going to be on him, I’m going to be talking a lot of trash,” Robinson said. “But at the end of the day, we’re going to be brothers still.”
Don’t be surprised if Ducks’ players key in on Carrington with a little more intensity.
“It’ll be fun,” Spring said. “I’d be lying if I said it was just a normal game.”
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