Oct 30, 2014 02:43 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Joe Mixon, an Oklahoma Sooners five-star running back recruit, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and may wind up avoiding jail time altogether.

Mixon's attorney, Kevin Finlay confirmed Thursday his client filed the plea in Cleveland County District Attorney in Oklahoma for a charge of acts resulting in gross injury, USA Today reported. He was given a one-year deferred sentence 100 hours of community service and mandatory counseling.

"Today, Joe has made the decision that entering an Alford Plea to the misdemeanor and accepting the short period of probation was the best course of action at this point in his life," Finlay said in a statement. "Joe does not want to be a further distraction to his family, friends, teammates, and the University of Oklahoma.

"Joe would like to apologize to everyone affected by this unfortunate chain of events. Joe looks forward to continuing towards his goal of becoming a successful student and athlete at the University of Oklahoma."

The Alford plea deal means that Mixon is maintaining he did nothing wrong and the deferred sentence means the judge could decide to dismiss Mixon's sentence and plea altogether.

According to ESPN, Mixon was accused of punching Amelia Rae Molitor on the night of July 25 at a restaurant in Norman, Okla. Molitor said she confronted Mixon that night because he was vocally harassing her friend.

Surveillance footage showed her shoving Mixon and slapping him when he lunged at her. At that point, Mixon punched her in the face, knocking her unconscious and breaking four bones in her face.

The University of Oklahoma suspended Mixon for the whole football season, though the recruit was expected to be a regular contributor to the Sooners' offense.

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