As much as Oklahoma fans have been keeping up with who the Sooners are bringing in from the Transfer Portal, they’ve been even more concerned about some of the current players staying, especially linebacker Owen Heinecke.
Heinecke was a breakout star this season on the Sooners’ elite defense and was the story of the year after starting his career at OU as a walk-on who had to force head coach Brent Venables to finally give him a chance on the field. However, Heinecke’s best season could be his last all because of three lacrosse games while at Ohio State in 2021.
Nate Dreiling posts heartfelt goodbye to senior linebackers, including Heinecke
After graduating from Bishop Kelley High School in Tulsa, Heinecke initially went to Ohio State to play lacrosse after getting only two major offers in football from Army and Navy. He spent just one year at Ohio State and appeared in only three games, though, before returning to Oklahoma and walking on to play football for the Sooners.
Once at OU, Heinecke didn’t touch the field in 2022, then played on special teams and sparingly as a backup linebacker in 2023 and ’24. By the end of 2025, though, he had earned a starting job while tallying 74 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, three sacks and forced a fumble in 13 games. He was named Second-Team All-SEC…