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Oklahoma Linebacker Earns SEC Player of the Week Honors

The Sooners' strong defensive performance against Mississippi State was awarded with an SEC weekly honor.
Ryan Aber|
Oklahoma linebacker Owen Heinecke lines up against Mississippi State. The Sooners won the game 23-15 and Heinecke was named an SEC co-defensive player of the week.
Oklahoma linebacker Owen Heinecke lines up against Mississippi State. The Sooners won the game 23-15 and Heinecke was named an SEC co-defensive player of the week. | Carson Field, Sooners on SI

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After Oklahoma's 23-15 win over Mississippi State on Saturday, Sooners linebacker Owen Heinecke earned SEC co-Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Heinecke had a team-high 10 tackles in the victory, with a sack, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

It was Heinecke's third career game with 10 or more tackles and the most for an Oklahoma player this season.

In the second quarter, Heinecke forced a fumble by Bulldogs' quarterback Billy Puckett at the OU 4. The fumble was recovered by Taylor Wein, ending what had been a promising drive for Mississippi State with the Sooners leading 3-0.

Oklahoma drove 94 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing drive to extend its lead to 10-0.

The Tulsa product's sack came on Mississippi State's second drive of the game, where Heinecke stopped Kamario Taylor for a 2-yard loss on fourth down from the OU 41.

Heinecke leads the team in tackles on the season with 54, 18 more than any other player. He has 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and four quarterback hurries. His TFL and quarterback hurry totals also lead the Sooners.

Heinecke has at least tied for the team lead in tackles in six of Oklahoma's seven games this season.

In Saturday's win, Heinecke graded out at 81.3 by Pro Football Focus. high highest grade of the season and highest overall since an 83.1 in last season's win over Kent State. Only safety Peyton Bowen, who also had a strong case for SEC weekly honors, graded out higher among Sooners who played more than seven plays in Saturday's game.

It is the second career weekly SEC award for Heinecke, who also earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors after the Sooners' Nov. 3 win at Tennessee last season.

The award is the fifth SEC weekly award this season for Oklahoma. Wide receiver Isaiah Sategna earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors Sept. 7, safety Peyton Bowen was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 12, kicker Tate Sandell earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors that same week and freshman defensive end Jake Kreul was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Oct. 19.

The Sooners (4-3, 2-2 SEC) take on South Carolina at 3:15 p.m. Saturday at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. That game will be televised on SEC Network.

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Ryan Aber
RYAN ABER

Ryan Aber has been covering Oklahoma football for more than a decade continuously and since 1999 overall. Ryan was the OU beat writer for The Oklahoman from 2013-2025, covering the transition from Bob Stoops to Lincoln Riley to Brent Venables. He covered OU men's basketball's run to the Final Four in 2016 and numerous national championships for the Sooners' women's gymnastics and softball programs. Prior to taking on the Sooners beat, Ryan covered high schools, the Oklahoma City RedHawks and Oklahoma City Barons for the newspaper from 2006-13. He spent two seasons covering Arkansas football for the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas before returning to his hometown of Oklahoma City. Ryan also worked at the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and the Muskogee Phoenix. At the Phoenix, he covered OU's national championship run in 2000. Ryan is a graduate of Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City and Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.

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