Oregon WR Messiah Hampton is arrested over a high-speed police chase

Oregon freshman wide receiver Messiah Hampton was arrested Friday afternoon in connection with a high-speed chase earlier this month, the latest off-field problem for a Ducks team that started the season ranked No. 2 and is now unranked.

Hampton faces two felony charges of attempting to elude police and a misdemeanor reckless driving charge, according to Lane County jail records cited by ESPN. He was booked into Lane County Jail and released Friday evening. Oregon then moved him to out for Saturday's home game against No. 20 Northwestern.

Police told The Oregonian that Hampton was identified as one of two drivers who evaded Springfield officers in the early hours of Oct. 18, just after Oregon beat Nebraska at home. The dispatch log shows several officers chasing two vehicles at 3:51 a.m. Nobody was arrested that night. Springfield police said Friday they are still trying to identify the other driver.

That is where it gets messier for Dan Lanning. One of the vehicles was found abandoned near where wide receiver Evan Stewart was arrested and charged with DUII about an hour later, ESPN reported. Police have not named Stewart as a suspect in the chase. Tight end Jamari Johnson got a Class A speeding ticket that same morning, and police have not named him as a suspect either.

Lanning addressed it in vague terms at his Oct. 19 news conference. He talked about "an incident that didn't match our standard" that "overshadowed the success we had," and said the program would handle discipline internally.

The fallout has already reached the field. Last week against Illinois, Oregon played without Stewart, Hampton and Jalen Lott, along with Jeremiah McClellan, who has a broken foot. Hampton was a late addition to the Big Ten availability report for the second straight week. The university did not immediately respond to ESPN's request for comment.

The RANT take: "handle it internally" stopped working the moment felony charges showed up. Oregon is 4-3, its receiver room keeps shrinking, and the program still hasn't said what actually happened on Oct. 18.

What's next: Northwestern visits Autzen at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on Peacock. Watch whether Lanning says anything more about Hampton's status beyond this weekend, and whether police name the second driver.