Norman police reportedly requested a warrant for Henderson’s arrest on Tuesday.

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley announced the dismissal of Mikey Henderson Tuesday after local authorities requested a warrant for the running back’s arrest.

According to media reports, the Norman Police Department is alleging Henderson was involved in an April 15 armed robbery that already resulted in the departures of running back Seth McGowan and receiver Trejan Bridges. The warrant request followed a protracted investigation into the alleged involvement of a third participant in the robbery. SI Sooners first reported on the warrant request for Henderson.

OU fans saw glimpses of Henderson on the field at H-back during the 2020 season. In nine games, he caught 12 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown and added nine carries for 81 yards and score on the ground. Henderson made his biggest impression in the Sooners’ November win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in which he had three catches for 61 yards and a TD.

OU’s coaching staff clearly valued Henderson’s versatility as a runner and receiver, but defining a consistent role for him in the offense proved elusive. While Henderson was experimenting with a full-time move to RB in the spring, the arrivals of transfers Eric Gray from Tennessee and Tre Bradford from LSU combined with Kennedy Brooks’ return to the field might have left him short on snaps in 2021.

On the other hand, OU’s roster is starting to look perilously thin at H-back following Henderson’s dismissal. Jeremiah Hall and Brayden Willis are each in their final years with the Sooners. Meanwhile, OU will have one scholarship tight end with experience on the team moving forward, and there’s a chance he takes his talents to the NFL after this season.

As such, look for OU’s coaches to start scouting potential transfer candidates at H-back in the fall.

Pro Football Focus has Spencer Rattler as its top player for 2021. Will he live up the billing?

Happy Tuesday, friends and fans!

Pro Football Focus recently named Oklahoma Sooners redshirt sophomore QB Spencer Rattler college football’s No. 1 overall player entering the 2021 season. To see PFF’s top-50 list in its entirety, click here or check out the link in the tweet below.

In addition to Rattler being selected as the top player in college football, two other Sooners also made the cut in PFF’s preseason player ranking. Redshirt junior EDGE Nik Bonitto checks in at No. 4 and redshirt junior RB Kennedy Brooks also makes an appearance at No. 42.

At this point, I think it’s safe to say that Spencer Rattler has the nation’s biggest microscope on his back entering the 2021 season. He leads virtually all preseason Heisman Trophy watch lists, and he’s the early favorite to become the first QB taken in the 2022 NFL Draft (if not the first overall pick altogether). Fortunately for OU fans, they’ll get see him wearing that Crimson & Cream for at least one more run at a championship before he sets his sights squarely on the league.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Recruiting heats up in Oklahoma, some familiar names and faces are set to go for gold in this year’s Olympic Games, the Jags ink No. 1 T-Law to a hefty rookie deal and more!

OU Links

• On Tuesday, Oklahoma gymnast Anastasia Webb was named Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year by the conference. It’s the 14th time a Sooner (male or female) has been recognized as the league’s top player in a given year.

• Sporting News recently named Spencer Rattler and Nik Bonitto Preseason First Team All-Americans. The national publication also recognized sophomore WR Marvin Mims among its list of Second Team All-Americans.
• Oklahoma Football just had one heck of a weekend on the recruiting trail. In total, the program welcomed the addition of four verbal commitments. Sooner Scoop’s Bob Przybylo has more on each of the pledges as well as what this could mean for the 2022 class going forward.
• Speaking of which, four-star 2022 offensive lineman Jake Taylor will be announcing his commitment on Wednesday.

• In other recruiting news, 2022 three-star DL Jadon Scarlett out of Flower Mound, Texas recently unveiled his top three schools, and OU made the cut along with Texas A&M and Missouri.

• When you look at some of the prospects Oklahoma is beginning to pick up on the defensive side of the ball, it’s apparent that DC Alex Grinch’s approach to recruiting is paying off in a big way. Sooners Wire’s John Williams has more.
• As members of the Mexico National Softball Team, former Sooners Sydney Romero and Nicole Mendes are headed to Tokyo, Japan for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Good luck, ladies! Boomer!

Around the Sports World

• Game One of the 2021 NBA Finals between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks tips off tonight at 8 p.m. CT on ABC. It’s not a matchup featuring the two teams most prognosticators predicted to reach this stage when the season started, but these are the two teams who have passed every test they’ve faced up to this point.

• This week, the Jacksonville Jaguars officially signed QB Trevor Lawrence — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft — to a four-year, $36.8 million contract.
• In other signing news, the Atlanta Hawks officially removed the interim tag off Nate McMillan’s title and have made him the team’s latest head coach behind a four-year deal.
• Jessica Springsteen — daughter of rock legend Bruce Springsteen — is heading to the Tokyo Olympics as part of the U.S. equestrian team. Sounds like some extremely talented genes, to me.
• On Monday night, the U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Mexico, 4-0 to cap their Send Off Series. Next stop — the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. I’m looking forward to watching this squad compete for the Gold.

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Jamar Cain is doing his thing.

Jamar Cain is once again bringing life to the Oklahoma Sooners’ resurgence in the trenches on defense, as Baltimore St. Frances Academy four-star DL Derrick Moore has announced his commitment. Under Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma has found much success in the DMV pipeline, and Moore is yet another example. The talented defensive lineman was already looking good for Jamar Cain and the crew, but the ChampU BBQ solidified his thoughts and beliefs in what he could become at OU. Moore has chosen the Sooners over the elites such as Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and several others .

Moore is currently listed as a defensive end with a frame of 6’4, 260lbs — this means that Jamar Cain and Calvin Thibodeaux are going to discuss with Alex Grinch about Moore’s future and hand him off to Bennie Wylie. Moore carries his 260 like he’s thirty pounds lighter because he is still an agile and quick-twitch athlete with incredible burst. He can play on the outside as a SDE, but he could also be moved inside as well, which fits Grinch’s scheme even better. Rotating fresh bodies in the trenches that can play multiple places and make plays is a DC’s dream and an OL coach’s nightmare.

Moore is now the Sooners’ 12th commit of the 2022 recruiting cycle and is one of the several high-profile defensive players that Alex Grinch is after in this recruiting cycle. Currently, Derrick Moore is rated as the No. 72 overall player in the country, the No. 12 DL player, and the No. 3 player in the state of Maryland according to 247Sports Composite rankings.

Brice is the second commit of the day for the Sooners.

Boom. Another one. Arlington (TX) Seguin standout Xavion Brice has announced his commitment to the Oklahoma Sooners and is another massive athlete in the 2022 recruiting class. Brice can play quarterback and wide receiver, but he is gaining traction as a legit DB in the DFW Metroplex. Alex Grinch, with depth developed in his DB unit, is continually taking on athletes with tons of upside talent in order to completely apply his defensive philosophy while he is at OU. Brice committed to the Sooners over institutions such as Baylor, Texas, Missouri, and several others.

Like most defensive backs under Alex Grinch, he continues to add tall trees into his backfield. Brice commits to the Sooners with a frame at 6’1, 175lbs and is being recruited as a safety. The talented athlete has great hands, instincts and ball skills. He is a long, rangy athlete and it’s always 100% important to acknowledge that skill can be taught, not size and length. I expect Brice to get far more buzz as the 2021-22 HS football season progresses.

Brice is now the Sooners’ 11th commit of the 2022 recruiting cycle and is the second “athlete” that has committed today. Currently, Xavion Brice is rated as the No. 92 athlete in the country, and the No. 148 player in the state of Texas, according to 247Sports Composite rankings. This is Alex Grinch’s recruiting and evaluation — “Effort? Long and rangy? You might belong in Norman as an Oklahoma defensive back.”

Happy Fourth of July!

Alex Grinch is continuing to grow more trees in his defensive backfield with the addition of Robert Spears-Jennings, an OK Preps product from Broken Arrow. Spears-Jennings may not be a huge name in the state of Oklahoma quite yet, but he fits exactly what Alex Grinch and Roy Manning want. The talented Athlete committed to the Oklahoma Sooners over schools such as Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, and several others.

Spears-Jennings plays both wide receiver and defensive back— on all recruiting services, he’s even tabbed as a receiver. However, Alex Grinch is recruiting the Broken Arrow product as a DB because of his frame: 6’2, 195lbs! A DB with a frame that large with ball skills is 100% of what Grinch wants in his defense— one can coach skill, not size and physical frame. He catches the ball with his hands, not his chest, he’s incredibly physical even on the offensive side of the ball, and his burst of speed is always downhill.

Spears-Jennings is now the Sooners’ 10th commit of the 2022 recruiting cycle and is one of the several “fireworks” to pop off in favor of Oklahoma on this Fourth of July. Currently, Robert Spears-Jennings is rated as the No. 160 wide receiver in the country, and the No. 19 player in the state of Oklahoma, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.