Dorial Green-Beckham joins Oklahoma football
Dorial Green-Beckham is heading to Oklahoma, the school announced Thursday. The former Mizzou wide receiver, who was kicked off the team in April, will enroll in classes at OU and participate in team activities immediately. However, Green-Beckham is not eligible to play for the Sooners until the 2015.
“We are pleased to welcome Dorial to the University of Oklahoma, where he is excited to continue his education and resume his playing career,” Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said in a statement. “Dorial understands the privilege and responsibilities of representing the Oklahoma Football program.”
According to multiple reports, Oklahoma will try and seek a waiver for Green-Beckham to play immediately. It is reported OU may apply for a “run-off” waiver. According to the NCAA, the waiver requires three items:
1). Documentation demonstrating that the student-athlete would not have had the opportunity to return to the previous institution’s team for reasons outside the control of the student-athlete.
2). A written statement from the applicant institution indicating that the student-athlete is in good academic standing and meets all progress-toward-degree requirements at applicant institution.
3). A written statement from the student-athlete’s previous institution indicating that the previous institution supports the waiver request.
“I appreciate this opportunity from Coach Stoops and the University of Oklahoma,” said Dorial Green-Beckham in a news release from the school. “There are people here who will help me build a strong foundation. I’ve disappointed myself and others in the past.”
Green-Beckham was suspended by Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel on April 7. Days later, the police report detailing an alleged assault came out. The report states he forced his way into an apartment and pushed a female down four steps. Green-Beckham was never charged with a crime after that incident, but was dismissed from the Mizzou football team on April 11.
The former No. 1 overall recruit had several run-ins with the law, both involving marijuana. He was arrested in 2012 in a parking lot outside the Memorial Stadium after police say Green-Beckham was in possession of marijuana. In January of this year, Green-Beckham was also in a car that was pulled over in Springfield. Police say they found approximately a pound of marijuana in the car, however the two other occupants in the car say the marijuana did not belong to the former Tiger.
Missouri said it will not comment on Green-Beckham’s transfer to the Sooners.
“The university has made the expectations clear and I want to live up to them and be a positive part of the campus and team,” Green-Beckham continues in the statement. “I also want to thank Coach Gary Pinkel and the University of Missouri.”
“He is a talented young man who is eager to get to work with the rest of our team in the classroom and on the field,” Stoops continues in the statement.
