One day before Oregon was set to host No. 20 Northwestern, a Ducks wide receiver was arrested in connection with a high-speed chase in which two cars eluded Springfield, Ore., police.
Messiah Hampton is facing two felony charges of attempting to elude police and one misdemeanor charge of reckless driving, Springfield police confirmed to the Oregonian/OregonLive.
Hampton was booked into Lane County Jail on Friday and released later in the day.
He was a late addition to the Big Ten availability report and will not play against Northwestern.
The charges stem from a late-night chase on Oct. 18 — hours after Oregon beat Nebraska, 17-14, at home — during which police pursued and could not track down two vehicles.
One of the vehicles was found abandoned near the site where Oregon receiver Evan Stewart was later arrested and charged with DUI.
Police did not name Stewart as a suspect in the high-speed chase.
“Mr. Hampton has been identified as the driver of one of the vehicles,” Springfield Police deputy chief George Crolly told Oregonian/OregonLive on Friday.
“We are still working to identify the driver of the other vehicle.”
After Stewart’s arrest last weekend, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning told reporters there was an incident “that didn’t match our standard here in our program” but did not elaborate.
“There will be an appropriate action taken,” Lanning told reporters at the time.
Hampton, a 6-foot-1 freshman out of Rochester and James Monroe High School, has caught 18 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns in six games this season for an Oregon team that has disappointed.
After starting the season ranked No. 2 in the AP poll, the Ducks have lost to Oklahoma State, UCLA and Illinois and are unranked. Star quarterback Dante Moore is out for the season after suffering a concussion.
