Arrington was sent to College of the Canyons by
East Carolina University with the intent that he would play for the Pirates in two years. As a sophomore at College of the Canyons, he won All-Region III honors (which is selected by the California Community College Football Coaches Association and the Junior College Athletic Bureau) and had 135 rushing attempts for 769 yards (5.7 yards per rushing attempt average), and caught 30 passes for 320 yards (10.67 yards per reception average). His 19 touchdowns that season, and 29 career touchdowns, were both school records. Arrington transferred to the
University of California, Berkeley, as a junior, and played for the
California Golden Bears in 2003 and 2004. He received few carries for most of the 2003 season aside from his 114-yard performance against Southern Mississippi. A knee injury to then starting running back
Adimchinobi Echemandu would thrust Arrington into the starting role against the Washington Huskies. This proved to be his breakout game as he mauled the Huskies defense for 185 yards and a touchdown. It took him only 14 carries to achieve this feat. In the first half managed to tally 157 yards on ten carries. He also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from
Aaron Rodgers giving him a total of 215 yards on the day. Despite his performance, he would receive limited carries for the rest of the 2003 season. He did play a pivotal role in the
Insight Bowl by catching five passes for 38 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass that would reduce
Virginia Tech's lead to only 28–21 at halftime. Cal would ultimately prevail 52–49 on a game-winning field goal. The 2004 season would see Arrington earn the starting tailback spot after the departure of Echemandu for the NFL. Arrington played a major role in the Cal Bears' first 10-win season since 1949. He would rush for at least 100 yards in every single game that season. Arrington rushed for 169 yards or more in eight of his team's 12 games as well. Ultimately Arrington would have one of the greatest seasons of any running back in NCAA and Pac-10 history, gaining 2,018 rushing yards that season. He became only the third Pac-10 Tailback to gain over 2,000 yards, joining USC tailbacks
Marcus Allen and
Charles White. His mark is also the tenth best total in NCAA history. He would receive the honor of the Pop Warner Award, deeming him the best College Football player on the west coast. He would also earn
All-American and All-Pacific-10 conference honors. Ultimately, the season would end in disappointment. Despite a 10–1 record, the Bears were bypassed for a BCS Bowl bid by The University of Texas. As a result, they played in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl against a 7–4 Texas Tech squad, where Cal was defeated by a score of 45–31, to end Arrington's college career. In addition, Arrington was not invited to the
Heisman Trophy ceremony (a distinction afforded the top three to five likely winners) despite having a better statistical year (15 TDs, 2,018 yards rushing, 6.98 yards per carry) than the number 2 vote-getter,
Adrian Peterson (15 TDs, 1,925 yards rushing, 5.68 yards per carry). ==Professional career==