MIAMI -- Miami football recruit Nate Harris, projected as one of the team's top freshmen next season, has been arrested and charged with armed robbery and could lose his scholarship.

Harris, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound linebacker, has been jailed since last Thursday. According to the Miami-Dade police report, Harris and Antwan Evans, both 19, robbed a victim at gunpoint.

"The recent development regarding Nate Harris is unfortunate and we are disappointed that it occurred,'' Miami coach Larry Coker said in a statement Wednesday. "We want Nate to now focus on taking care of the situation at hand.

"When we have more complete information, we will be able to make a decision regarding his attending the University of Miami and being a member of the football team.''

According to police, the victim was playing checkers on a street corner in Liberty City when Evans pulled out a gun then took the victim's necklace, bracelet and ring. Harris and Evans then fled to their car, which allegedly was being driven by Freddy Cromer, 21.

The victim chased them and later gave police a description of the car and the attackers. The three were arrested shortly after the robbery.

"I told him to stay away from those guys,'' Edison coach Corey Bell told The Miami Herald. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now he's hoping and praying they don't take his scholarship away.''

If convicted of armed robbery, Harris could be sentenced between four and 10 years in prison.

Harris had 121 tackles and 14 sacks last season, helping Edison to its first playoff appearance since 1988. Several publications listed him as one of the state's top linebackers.

This was not his first arrest.

When he was 15, Harris was arrested and charged with stealing clothes at a mall. He spent six months at Bay Point School, an alternative school in north Miami for troubled teens.

Just days before signing with Miami in February, Harris vowed to stay out of trouble for the sake of his son. His girlfriend, Lisha Johnson, gave birth to Nathaniel Jr. Harris in December.

"I've got an even bigger reason to succeed now,'' Harris said then. "I've got a kid to call my own, and he's depending on me to provide for him. He needs me to be a good father.''