Oregon WR Evan Stewart arrested on DUII charge

The news broke Monday morning from The Oregonian, and it came with a second detail the internet needed to hear: the street-racing story going around was not true.

The rumor mill had a full weekend. Online chatter had several Ducks racing through Springfield, and Springfield police went out of their way to shut that down. What is on the record is one player and one charge. Stewart was booked at about 7 a.m. PT Sunday on a charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants and released about an hour later to a third party, fellow Oregon receiver Dakorien Moore.

The timing makes it look worse. Stewart did not play Saturday night when Oregon beat Nebraska at home. Late in the week he was downgraded from questionable to doubtful with an undisclosed injury, so he spent the night of a home win in street clothes and was in a jail booking a few hours later.

Oregon has said almost nothing so far. The school did not acknowledge the arrest publicly Monday morning, and the only word from Eugene is that it is still collecting facts.

Adam Rittenberg

@ESPNRittenberg

Per an Oregon spokesman, the school is aware of the Evan Stewart incident and gathering additional information. t.co/ax69NzdxFW

That holding statement is not a small thing, because Stewart is not some depth piece. The senior Texas A&M transfer leads the Ducks with 27 catches, 352 yards and 4 touchdowns through 5 games, which puts him first in all 3 categories. He was already banged up, and now Oregon has to decide whether he faces discipline on top of that.

So the next question goes to Dan Lanning. Look for an injury update and a discipline answer at his weekly availability, and for whether Stewart's status for the next game is described as an injury or a suspension. Oregon has its own investigation going and the legal case is just starting. Until Lanning speaks, everything past the booking is guesswork.