SAN ANTONIO — Darren Carrington was afraid to call his parents.

After catching seven passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns during Oregon’s 59-20 pulverizing of Florida State on Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl, the electrifying wide receiver learned that the NCAA was pulling the plug on his national championship dream.

Carrington was suspended for the inaugural College Football Playoff title game for a failed drug test. He decided to lean on his best friend, Markel Byrd, to get through the ensuing social media storm.

“I called Markel and I was like, ‘Bro, I’m not going to be able to play,’” Carrington said. “He’s like, ‘It’s all good man, you’re going to be back and when you’re back you’re going to put on a show. … Forget the haters, I love you, I don’t care.’”

Carrington, a sophomore, was eagerly waiting for his phone to ring last Tuesday for a holiday reunion with Byrd.

“He never called,” Carrington said. “It was just tragic.”

Byrd, a sophomore safety at New Mexico, was killed in a single-car accident while driving home for the holiday break. The 20-year-old died instantly after being ejected from the vehicle; his girlfriend reportedly was taken to a local hospital where she was listed in critical condition.

Carrington plans to keep Byrd’s memory alive by wearing his friend’s No. 22 jersey during Oregon’s Alamo Bowl matchup with TCU on Saturday.

“I was closer to him, honestly, than anybody in my family,” Carrington said of Byrd, his former teammate from Pop Warner to high school in the San Diego area. “I have two sisters, so for me to have a brother that was my quarterback, it was just like a dream come true. We just clicked right away. …

“We were inseparable. We were like the same person.”

Carrington spoke to Byrd on the morning of the accident. Oregon safety Tyree Robinson, who grew up in San Diego competing in the same athletic circles, broke the news to his teammate that night.

“It was hard because I just didn’t know how to tell Darren,” Robinson said. “When I gave him the phone call and everything, he didn’t want to believe it. … I tried to call him back, and the next thing you know he was crying.”

Carrington said when he called Byrd’s mother the unthinkable became a reality.

“Then it just hit me,” Carrington said. “It was finally going to be our first Christmas together since like high school. I talked to him that morning. I was like, ‘Bro, I got you some cleats,’ and he was super happy. He was telling me they were just getting in the car, they were taking off and I was just like, ‘I love you bro, make it safe.’ And he was like, ‘For sure bro, I love you too.’”

Getting back on the practice field with the Ducks proved to be therapeutic for Carrington and Robinson.

“I played basketball against (Carrington) and Markel Byrd. So, I mean I knew Markel and it was shocking,” said sophomore running back Royce Freeman, who is from Imperial, California. “I really didn’t believe it at first. Him and Tyree, I reached out to both of them. It’s a tragedy, but we all want him to know we are here for him and we know what he’s going through.”

Carrington said Vernon Adams Jr. reminds him of an older version of Byrd. The Ducks are 6-0 with the senior quarterback and dynamic deep threat both in the lineup.

“I feel like God just put Vernon on my team for this last year,” Carrington said of the Eastern Washington graduate transfer he connected with immediately on and off the field. “He knew this was going to happen.”

Carrington and Adams, who are roommates on this extended road trip, aren’t shy about expressing their faith publicly, something they shared with Byrd.

“He’s in a better place definitely now. He’s a man of God, just like I am,” Carrington said. “I know that he’s being taken care of up there, he’s watching over me. Just to wear his number down here on Earth is going to mean a lot. Hopefully I can put on a good show for him.”

Byrd had 91 career tackles, four interceptions, four passes broken up, two tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble during two seasons with the Lobos.

“To lose someone like that who always gave it 100 percent in everything he did, it was really like the good die young,” Robinson said. “We’re just going to live for Markel, and you should expect me and Darren to have an extra motor out on the field.”

After watching helplessly from his apartment in Eugene as Oregon lost to Ohio State in the national championship game last January in Arlington, Texas, Carrington hopes to get 2016 off to a better start by honoring his fallen friend with an inspired performance at the Alamodome.

“Honestly, this year has been, man, a roller coaster,” Carrington said. “Probably the toughest year of my life. … It’s just been hard, but I’ve just been able to stay strong and keep persevering through all my struggles.”