Former Sooner running back went from gridiron glory to leaving court in handcuffs

NORMAN — Running back Seth McGowan had been viewed as a potential star for the Sooners.

As a freshman at the University of Oklahoma, he scored two touchdowns in his first game − a 48-0 blowout of Missouri State in the 2020 season opener.

In the rout of Florida in the Cotton Bowl that season, he ran for 73 yards on a single carry and had 70 more on three catches.

He didn't last.

He was suspended from the team before the 2021 spring game after becoming a suspect in a criminal investigation. He was charged in May 2021 with robbery, conspiracy and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to larceny from a person at nighttime.

Under a plea agreement, McGowan, now 22, is being sent to a boot camp-like program at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman will decide his punishment on the felony based in part on how he does. He could face up to 10 years in prison.

Sentencing was set for March 13. Prosecutors dismissed the other two counts against him.

As he stood before the judge in a Nirvana hoodie, a sheriff's deputy handcuffed him from behind. "You can do this," his attorney said to him as he was led away.

What happened in the robbery involving former OU football players?

The victim identified McGowan as one of three men who stole marijuana, jewelry, high-dollar shoes, cash and other personal property from his Norman apartment on April 15, 2021.

He said he had refused earlier in the evening over Snapchat to sell McGowan marijuana, according to court affidavits. He said McGowan showed up anyway.

The victim told police one intruder, Trejan Bridges, struck him in the head with a handgun. He also said Bridges threatened to "come back and kill him if he got up before 10 minutes passed," according to the affidavits. Police reported the victim was bleeding.

Bridges, a former wide receiver at OU, also was charged in May 2021 with robbery, conspiracy and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Mikey Henderson, a former running back, was charged in July 2021 after further investigation.

Bridges, 23, and Henderson, 21, pleaded guilty in September to larceny of a person at nighttime. They will be sentenced Jan. 3 if they complete the prison boot camp-like program in time.

McGowan is from Mesquite, Texas, near Dallas. He spent his 2023 season as a running back at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas.

He had been listed in March as a prosecution witness against the other two former players before they agreed to plead guilty.

Prosecutors revealed in the filing he would have testified "to participating in the robbery" with the others, to taking the stolen items to a girlfriend's place and to then dumping them off a dock at Lake Thunderbird.

A dive team with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol did recover items from the lake, prosecutors said.

The girlfriend would have testified to going to the lake with McGowan, prosecutors said. She also would have testified the victim was offered money to "drop" the charges.

Prosecutors reduced the robbery count to larceny in all three cases so they would be eligible for the Regimented Inmate Discipline (RID) program at the Corrections Department.

Prosecutors still could dismiss the cases if they successfully finish the program. Prosecutors also could agree to a type of probation that would leave them with no felony conviction.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Former OU running back Seth McGowan headed to prison boot camp after guilty plea