UCLA needs all the help it can get in the backfield next season as it tries to replace the production from quarterback Brett Hundley, but the Bruins could find themselves without one of their top recruits this year.
The Dallas Morning News reports that five-star running back Sotonye "Soso" Jamabo was arrested on Saturday on a felony charge of evading arrest after it appears he attended his high school prom.
Jamabo was caught speeding outside of Kemp, Texas -- roughly an hour away from the Dallas-area Plano West High School he attended -- when police tried to pull him over. Police chief Robert Walker told the paper that the running back ran a stop sign in his pickup, and sped past other cars with "total disregard for the public safety of others on the road."
After a short chase, Jamabo eventually stopped and was arrested by police.
"He got out screaming and hollering that his life was over," officer Kenny Boyle said.
Jamabo was booked into county jail about 1:30 a.m. Sunday on the charge of evading arrest with a vehicle and, according to the Morning News, could face six months to two years in prison if convicted.
Given how early in the legal process it is, it is too soon to say whether the top recruit will ever wind up in Los Angeles, but the Bruins did take the proactive step of issuing a statement to the media acknowledging the report.
"We are obviously concerned about these reports and are currently gathering more information," UCLA associate athletic director Josh Rupprecht said in an email. "As this is a continuing process, we will withhold further comment until the appropriate time."
The UCLA football team holds its spring game on April 25 and opens the 2015 season against Virginia on September 5.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
