Defensive lineman Raymond Henderson, who was dismissed from Tennessee's football team in May, has transferred to Minnesota and will enroll in summer school classes July 10.

Henderson, who was one of the nation's top-ranked defensive ends at Oak Creek (Wis.) High School, must sit out this coming season as a transfer and will be eligible to play in 2007. He was a redshirt freshman at Tennessee this past season, leaving him with three years of eligibility.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Henderson was kicked off Tennessee's team by coach Phillip Fulmer this spring after he made an inappropriate comment to a woman and her adolescent daughter at a restaurant. He was not arrested over the incident.

Gophers director of football operations Tim Allen said the school investigated the incident and Henderson’s background extensively before admitting him to school.

"We explored every avenue," Allen told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

The Gophers recruited Henderson in high school but were unable to sign him.

Gophers coach Glen Mason and Fulmer are friends and discussed Henderson’s situation after he was dismissed. Allen said

Henderson also signed a release allowing Tennessee officials to send his disciplinary records to Minnesota.

The inappropriate comments were not the only incident for Henderson at UT. In announcing the dismissal, Fulmer said

Henderson had been given a curfew as a result of an earlier, undisclosed incident.

Henderson’s high school coach, Joe Koch, told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in May that he received numerous calls from schools after Henderson left Tennessee.

"The other schools said (the incident) was very, very minor," Koch told the newspaper. "He never got in any trouble (at Oak Creek)."

Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi said the football staff consulted him before seeking to have Henderson admitted.

"With anybody that’s being admitted, whether that’s a freshman or a transfer student, it has to be a good fit for the University of Minnesota," Maturi told the Star Tribune. "We’re convinced this young man is."