Oklahoma LB Owen Heinecke Says His 2026 Eligibility is 'A Complicated Process'

NORMAN — If you look at Owen Heinecke's player profile page on SoonerSports, it reads "redshirt junior." If only it were so simple. This is the NCAA we are talking about, after all.

There is question about whether or not Heinecke could be playing in his final year of college football. The Tulsa native who has come on spectacularly in Brent Venables' vaunted corps of linebackers in 2025 has been at Oklahoma since 2022, but only started playing in 2023.

Prior to that, Heinecke played in three games with Ohio State's lacrosse team. According to Heinecke, the NCAA is counting his time with the Buckeyes against his eligibility clock, bringing into question the linebacker's time remaining with the Sooners.

"(I'm) currently in the appeal process with the NCAA," Heinecke said on Sunday. "I think the NCAA is kind of cracking down on six years. So, as of right now, I don't know. If I got the extra year, I would heavily consider (returning)."

Oklahoma Sooners, Owen Heinecke — Oklahoma linebacker Owen Heinecke | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Now that the Sooners are playing in the College Football Playoff, Heinecke understands that any game could be his last.

That's the world Oklahoma has been living in since they lost to Ole Miss at the end of October. If not for a November-run to remember, the Sooners would be preparing for a bowl game. Heinecke has understood that this season — and now each playoff game — could be it for him, should the NCAA not rule in his favor.

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"Each game after LSU could have been my last," Heinecke said. "So you know, just playing with that chip on my shoulder knowing that if this is my last year, I got to impress everybody that I can."

Heinecke has a blood relationship with the program. His uncle, Cory, was a mainstay at defensive tackle on Bob Stoops' early teams — helping OU win the 2000 national championship. That relationship with the program factors heavily on Heinecke's mind in the event the NCAA grants him an extra year of eligibility.

"I love Oklahoma and this has really been my first year playing, so I would love another year to go at it," Heinecke said.

"This is a dream come true and every chance I get to run out on that field, is a special one," Heinecke added. "I try to play each game like it's my last, and this one could be it. Play hard for Sooner Nation, play hard for my family and for everybody's who's been cheering me on."