Some bad news for the Iowa Hawkeyes early Saturday, as running back Jewel Hampton was arrested following his alleged involvement in a bar fight near campus.
Hampton, 20, was charged with public intoxication and underage presence at a liquor establishment after his arrest at 1:46 a.m. Saturday. He was booked at the Johnson County jail at 2:42 a.m. and released at 3:15 a.m.
Iowa City police officers responded to Vito's, a restaurant and bar in Iowa City, following reports of a large fight at the back of the bar.
"Based on their investigation, officers determined that Mr. Hampton was actively involved in several physical confrontations within the bar," Iowa City police Lt. Bill Campbell told ESPN.com.
Another Iowa player, junior cornerback Jordan Bernstine, was also arrested at the bar and charged with public intoxication. Bernstine was booked under his given name, Jordan Morris.
Hampton is in the mix for Iowa's starting job this season after missing all of 2009 with a knee injury. He went through spring ball and did everything but full-contact drills. The Indianapolis native entered last summer as the frontrunner for the starting job before injuring his knee, first in July during voluntary workouts and then again during preseason camp. Hampton backed up Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Shonn Greene in 2008 and rushed for 463 yards and seven touchdowns.
Hampton is expected to compete with Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher for the top job in 2010.
Bernstine also was a candidate for a starting spot in 2009 before breaking his ankle in August and missing the season.
Iowa had enjoyed a long stretch without off-field incidents after seeing a large group of players make the police blotter between 2006-08. It will be interesting to see how Ferentz handles Hampton's and Bernstine's arrests.
UPDATE: Ferentz issued the following statement regarding Hampton and Bernstine early Saturday afternoon.
“I am aware of the incident involving Jordan Bernstine and Jewel Hampton Friday evening and at this time I am in the process of gathering all the facts concerning the incident. Until I have all the facts, I’ll have no further comment and the incident will be handled internally.”
So that's that.