Stoops expects Jarboe to be on roster after charges reduced

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he expects Josh Jarboe to be with the Sooners this fall, after felony gun charges against the star recruit were lowered to misdemeanors Thursday in DeKalb County, Ga., Superior Court.

Josh Jarboe

"We expect to have Josh on our roster this fall and look forward to a long and successful career for him both academically and on the football field,” Stoops said in a statement released Friday evening. "He became involved in a situation at his school during his senior year that certainly has caused us concern. At the same time, we have personal knowledge of Josh through our recruiting contact with him and from personal references from his school and individuals of authority in his life. We feel that he will be a positive contributor to our campus.

"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.”

According to spokeswoman Jada Hudspeth of the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, Jarboe pleaded guilty on Tuesday to felony charges of theft by receiving stolen property and bringing a gun to school.

Under Georgia's First Offenders Act, Judge Michael Hancock reduced the charges to misdemeanors on Thursday, since Jarboe had no prior convictions.

Jarboe will serve two years probation and perform 80 hours of community service.

Charges against James Davis, who was arrested along with Jarboe on similar complaints, were dropped.

Jarboe was considered one of the top-10 receiver recruits in the nation coming out of Cedar Grove High School.

In February he signed with OU after considering Florida, Georgia and LSU.

This fall, Jarboe could have a chance to compete for playing time immediately at the starting wide receiving spot left vacant by Malcolm Kelly, who skipped his senior season to declare for last month's NFL Draft.

At the least, Jarboe, along with fellow incoming freshmen receivers Dejuan Miller and Jameel Owens, should give sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford ample receiving weapons over the next few seasons.

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