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Oklahoma Adds Wrestler, Son of WWE Legend, as Walk-on DL

The Sooners' newest prospect, who's already on the wrestling team, was a 3-star prospect in high school.
John Hoover|
Jacob Henry at Vandegrift High School in 2024
Jacob Henry at Vandegrift High School in 2024 | Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma’s defense just got a little bigger.

The Sooners have apparently added wrestler Jacob Henry to the roster as a walk-on defensive lineman.

Henry posted a photo on Twitter Monday showing his new locker in the OU football locker room, with the caption, “Day 1.” He also updated his Twitter/X bio to read, “Defensive tackle at the University of Oklahoma.”

Henry — the son of WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry, a three-time U.S. National Weightlifting Champion and two-time Olympian — currently competes as a freshman on the Sooner wrestling team. 

As a football player at Vandergrift High School in Austin, he was rated as a 3-star defensive line prospect by 247 Sports. 

He was a three-time state placer in high school, including his senior year when he won 37 matches and was runner-up in the Class 6A 285-pound class. He was also a USAW Texas Freestyle State Champion and competed in track and field as a top-four state placer in the shot-put.

“Jacob's work ethic and competitive nature are qualities that fit into the culture that we're building here,” OU wrestling coach Roger Kish said last May when Henry signed. “I’m excited to watch him grow and develop at the next level.”

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John E. Hoover
JOHN HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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