After missing last season for a vicious assault of a fellow University of Oklahoma (OU) student, Sooners running back Joe Mixon has rejoined the football team.
According to ESPN, Sooners running backs coach Cale Gundy addressed Mixon's return with a group of reporters Wednesday. Mixon has not seen a meaningful snap for Oklahoma, as he was a five-star recruit this time last year.
Mixon entered an Alford guilty plea for misdemeanor assault on Oct. 30, but the Sooners suspended him for the entire season. The Alford plea allowed him to maintain innocence while accepting a lesser punishment, Mixon was accused of punching a female student and breaking several bones in her face.
OU's president, athletic director and head football coach all saw the surveillance footage in which Mixon was seen striking the other person. The running back was able to take classes at OU while he served 100 hours of community service as part of his deal.
"He made a split-second and wrong decision, and he knows that," Gundy said during Oklahoma's signing day news conference. "He is a super, super kid. And I use the term 'kid' because he still is like a kid. He's still very young."
Mixon will most likely split offensive snaps with Samaje Perine, who was also recruited last year, out of the backfield. Perine, a lower-ranked recruit compared to Mixon at the time, ran for 1,713 yards and 21 touchdowns on 263 carries last season.
"Obviously he was punished, and rightfully so," Gundy said. "There were things he had to do that kept him away from our football team and our locker room and our weight room, and it was hard on him. It was a tough deal, but he did a tremendous job. He did very well in school. He was working out on his own and staying up on that."
