Stoops dismisses freshman Jarboe

Staff and Wire Reports

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops said Friday that he has dismissed an incoming freshman receiver from the team who had been arrested earlier this year on a weapons charge.

The dismissal of wide receiver Josh Jarboe came after the player appeared in a 74-second, profanity-laced video in which he rapped about guns and shooting people. The video is circulating on the Internet and appears to have been filmed in a university athletic dormitory.

"We are disappointed in this outcome, but our complete review and this final decision is in the best interest of our program," Stoops said in a statement.

Jarboe was considered one of the top recruits in the nation.

"We outlined for Josh the expectations we had for him when he arrived and, unfortunately, those expectations have not been met. Josh needs to learn from this experience. We hope he can move forward in a positive manner."

Oklahoma players will begin preseason practice on Sunday.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Jarboe was highly recruited before signing with the Sooners in February. In March, he was arrested after an assistant principal at Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood, Ga., told a school police officer he saw Jarboe grab a gun from a car.

Jarboe was expelled from school, but completed his high school degree online.

He pleaded guilty in late May in Georgia to charges of bringing a gun to school and carrying a pistol without a license. A judge reduced the charges to misdemeanors because Jarboe was a first-time offender and sentenced Jarboe to two years of probation and 80 hours of community service.

The felony charges could have prevented Jarboe from attending Oklahoma.

After Jarboe's guilty plea, Stoops issued a statement saying that Jarboe would remain with the Sooners, but that "we have already stressed to him that his citizenship is of the utmost importance. He understands that anything less than exemplary behavior will not be tolerated."