Conversations still loom for OSU QB Hauss Hejny return, other Cowboys during final weeks of season

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As Oklahoma State’s season draws nearer to a close, the opportunities for a Hauss Hejny return wither.

The redshirt freshman Hejny flashed talent in the season opener before exiting after the Cowboys’ third possession with a broken bone in his left foot, and his status has been in question throughout OSU’s tumultuous 1-8 season.

The Cowboys now have only three games remaining, with a home matchup against Kansas State up next at 11 a.m. Saturday. Conversations still must take place and decisions made about Hejny’s potential for a return this season.

“I'm gonna talk to him. I'm not sure,” Oklahoma State interim head coach Doug Meacham said Monday. “So, anything I tell you at this point, it won't be accurate, because I don't know for sure. But we're gonna soon have a conversation to see where he is.”

Meacham said Hejny was jogging and throwing some balls at the Tuesday and Wednesday practices this past week during the OSU bye week. Progress is being made, but there still is no timetable for a return yet.

But at this juncture of the season, timing could make the decision for Hejny.

With three games remaining, Hejny will now officially stay within the four game appearances allotted by the NCAA while retaining redshirt status, but that is irrelevant, as Hejny burned his redshirt a season ago at TCU as a true freshman. However, Hejny is still eligible for a medical hardship. Stepping back onto the field this season would end his eligibility to medically redshirt.

So, the decision becomes one that weighs on not only Hejny’s future this season, but on his college career.

Even when having personal decisions looming over him, Hejny has still been there for his team. When the Cowboys played at Kansas two weeks ago, Hejny traveled with the team and was on the sidelines supporting his teammates.

“It says a lot about him as a person, how much it means to him and that he's not going to waste any opportunity he can get to try to help us,” Meacham said. “He's on the sidelines, bringing guys on and it’s the way it used to be. So it kind of makes you feel good to know there's still guys out there like that, that care about the school and they feel there's gratitude for where they are.”

Other decisions

While Hejny is making decisions for himself and his future, other players are, too.

For Cowboys like sophomore wide receiver Shamar Rigby, this season hasn’t played out like he wanted or expected to happen. And now, with OSU on the search for a head coach after Mike Gundy was fired three games into the season, he and others must consider their futures.

Shamar Rigby

Oklahoma State sophomore wide receiver Shamar Rigby runs for extra yards after a catch against UT Martin.

“I just want to make sure I make the right decision for me,” Rigby said Monday. “I’ve been talking to my family about stuff like that. Whoever the head coach is, hear him out, hear what he has to say, stuff like that. So, it’s just like, it all comes down to my decision and what I want to do.”

Meacham isn’t naive to those processes or conversations. His team wants to win and compete these final three weeks, but he also knows this season is winding down and moves will start occurring by the end of the month.

Meacham even knows that’s true for himself and his staff.

“With our job right now, we're going to try to keep it together and hold it together the best we can for the school and the team and for whomever comes in here next so they’re not hit in the face with something just awful,” Meacham said. “So, we're here to try to make that transition good and try to showcase the guys that they're going to watch once they show up here. We try to get the best out of all of them so that when those guys come in and plug in tape, they'll say, ‘Yeah, we need to keep that guy.’”

Rigby, a Purdue transfer, caught three passes for 31 yards and his first OSU touchdown during the KU game. Meacham still sees guys like Rigby playing hard and making plays, trying to get their names out there.

It’s impressive to see the fight, Meacham said, but it’s one of the things he said he was “assigned to do.”

“You didn't want anything to happen that's catastrophic and have a walkout or something crazy, which could occur,” Meacham said. “It's just a testament of the guys we brought in here. They are some good kids.

Blackmon joins Ring of Honor on Saturday

A new name will join the Cowboy Football Ring of Honor high on the wall of the west end zone at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday.

Justin Blackmon

Former Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon will be added to the Ring of Honor at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday.

During the Kansas State game, former OSU wide receiver Justin Blackmon will become the sixth Cowboy added into the Ring of Honor. He will join Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders, Bob Fenimore, Terry Miller and Leslie O'Neal.

Blackmon hauled in 253 receptions for 3,564 yards and 42 touchdowns at OSU and won back-to-back Biletnikoff Awards, presented annually to college football’s best receiver, in 2010 and 2011. He is one of only two players to ever win the award twice.

In 2023, Blackmon was inducted into the OSU Athletics Hall of Honor, and he was a member of the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

Kick time for UCF

The Cowboys travel to UCF on Nov. 22 for their final road game of the season, and kickoff will be at 3 p.m., it was announced Monday. The game will air on ESPN+.

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