Oregon Ducks freshman redshirt WR Darren Carrington failed an NCAA-administered drug test, testing positive for marijuana. He is now ineligible to play in the national championship game on Monday. Fox Sports also reported that an appeal by Oregon has already been heard and denied, meaning that Carrington will definitely not be appearing in Monday’s national title game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The school confirmed that Carrington did not travel with the team to Texas, where the game will be held at AT&T Stadium. Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich is expected to address the situation at Saturday morning’s media day.
Carrington played a pivotal role in Oregon’s 59-20 win over Florida State at the Rose Bowl playoff game last week. He had his best performance of his career during that game with 7 receptions for 2 touchdowns. With a total of 37 receptions for 704 yards and 4 touchdowns on the season, he currently ranks second on the team in receiving yards and fourth in receptions.
Carrington’s suspension is a huge loss for Oregon’s offense, especially since they’re already missing WR Devon Allen, who injured his knee on the opening kickoff of the Rose Bowl. We’ll see how the Ducks perform without two of their key offensive players on Monday.
