Joe Mixon has decided to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.
The redshirt sophomore running back told ESPN.com Thursday he will skip his junior season at Oklahoma after the Sooners thumped Auburn in the Sugar Bowl 35-19.
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In that victory, Mixon rushed for 180 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Mixon has become a controversial figure in college football. In June 2014 he punched a woman in the face at a late-night restaurant and was suspended for the entire 2014 season.
The brutal assault surfaced again last month, when the video surveillance footage of the incident was released to the public.
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Mixon issued a formal apology after the tape was released but has maintained the punch was prompted by racial slurs directed toward him.
"I'm going to tell them the complete truth," Mixon told ESPN about how he'll try to convince NFL teams to take a chance on him. "That it's never OK to be in the situation I was in or to ever hit a woman. I'm looking for them to get to know the actual me."
Mixon rushed for 1,274 yards and 15 touchdowns, plus 538 receiving yards, this past season.
Mixon said he received a first-round grade from the NFL advisory committee but he also admitted, "We're just going to have to see" about how his checkered past may contribute to his actual draft position, especially amid a loaded running back class.