Joe Mixon, the Oklahoma Sooners' prized running back recruit, has been charged with misdemeanor assault, though the school has not doled out a punishment as of yet.

According to ESPN, Mixon stood accused of punching a fellow University of Oklahoma (OU) student at an off-campus establishment July 25. Emilia Rae Molitor, 20, told authorities she and Mixon were at the restaurant with their separate groups of friends when the football player punched her in the face.

Mixon, a six-foot-two, 210-pound tailback, was a five-star recruit from Calif. and was expected to get significant playing time in his freshman season.

The police report noted that Molitor was intoxicated and Mixon's attorney accused her of being the aggressor. However, upon reviewing the Norman Police's investigation the Cleveland Country District Attorney chose not to file charges against Molitor, only Mixon.

The police report noted Molitor suffered "a fractured jaw, fractured cheek bone, fracture sinus and fractured orbit which caused a hematoma on the left eye."

Molitor told investigators Mixon directed a homosexual slur at one of her friends before she shoved him away, the Oklahoman reported. Surveillance footage showed Mixon charge at Molitor, who said he hit her after she slapped him for aggressively approaching her. The footage showed Molitor fall to the ground unconscious as Mixon fled.

"You can't look past the injuries to Ms. Molitor," Greg Mashburn, Cleveland County's DA, said in a statement alongside his decision. "You can't look past that it is a guy and a girl.

"I believe that this charge really fits because it deals with causing gross injury to a person, and that act was injurious to public morals. I think under the law that's exactly what we have here and the misdemeanor charge is appropriate."

If convicted, an assault resulting in "gross injury," as Masburn said applied to this case, Mixon could spend a year in prison.

"The University of Oklahoma understands that charges have now been filed against Joe Mixon based upon an investigation by local law enforcement agencies,'" athletic director Joe Castiglione said in a statement. "Under its policies, the university must independently evaluate student conduct matters and will review the facts as part of its internal process. At an appropriate time, the university will determine Mixon's status."

Mixon was previously barred from football activities pending the results of the investigation, but it is unclear what OU plans to do. An unnamed source told Sooner Scoop that Mixon is expected in court Monday for arraignment.

Read more