What would Owen Heinecke's return mean for the Oklahoma Sooners?

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Oklahoma is among college football teams with the most returning starters for 2026 and may have more reinforcements on the horizon. According to a report from George Stoia and SoonerScoop.com, Owen Heinecke has filed a preliminary injunction against the NCAA in hopes of being granted another year of eligibility.

If granted the injunction and deemed eligible to play in 2026, it would be a huge boost to the Sooners‘ linebacker corps. Heinecke was a star for OU’s defense last season. He finished the year second on the team with 74 total tackles and 12 tackles for loss. He also had three sacks, four pass breakups, and a forced fumble that turned into a touchdown in the Sooners’ win over Tennessee. Heinecke was seventh on the defense in snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, and second among linebackers.

Heinecke’s return would give the Sooners another defensive star with extensive knowledge of Brent Venables’ system in 2026. Michigan transfer Cole Sullivan is expected to have a significant role on the defense, but if Heinecke returns, he’d have more time to learn the defense in a rotational role in anticipation of taking over as the leader of the linebacker room and of the defense in 2027.

Even if Sullivan were in the starting lineup, the Sooners have depth questions at linebacker behind Sullivan and Kip Lewis. Heinecke’s return would provide the Sooners with three linebackers who have played a lot of meaningful football at the collegiate level. With as much as Venables and his defensive staff want to rotate, especially in the front seven, the Sooners would get a huge boost from having Lewis, Heinecke, and Sullivan as their top three linebackers.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Sooners defense would get a huge boost with Owen Heinecke’s return

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