Oklahoma's Owen Heinecke granted preliminary injunction for eligibility
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Oklahoma football linebacker Owen Heinecke was granted a preliminary injunction in Cleveland County District Court on Thursday, April 16, making him eligible for the 2026 season in a potential precedent-setting decision.
Heinecke, a redshirt senior last season, was denied an eligibility waiver by the NCAA on Jan. 30. He participated in the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine and was preparing for the 2026 NFL Draft before deciding to sue the NCAA on March 23. Heinecke was projected as a late-round pick.
It's an interesting case as Heinecke, a former walk-on, started his career playing lacrosse at Ohio State. He played 15 minutes of action for the Buckeyes in 2021 before transferring to Oklahoma, where he missed the 2022 season due to injury and recorded 12 total tackles from 2023-24 before emerging as one of the best linebackers in the SEC down the stretch in 2025, earning second-team All-SEC honors by the Associated Press. His 15 minutes and three lacrosse games at Ohio State were counting against him in eligibility prior to the decision April 16.
Heinecke's counsel argued he intended to be a two-sport athlete at Ohio State, but was denied the opportunity to play football at the school due to the program not holding walk-on tryouts until the spring due to COVID-19, and Heinecke also dealing with a hip injury from high school.
Heinecke also argued COVID-19 denied him the best chance at football opportunities as a high school recruit. He received offers from Army and Navy and other Division II programs, but decided to play lacrosse at Ohio State as the NCAA didn't allow for in-person recruiting visits.
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) April 16, 2026
Both Oklahoma coach Brent Venables and general manager Jim Nagy testified in court in support of Heinecke. Heinecke's high school coach also testified, and OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. and athletic director Rogert Denny were in attendance.
“He’s just now coming into his own as a football player,” Venables said via On3. “Becoming an All-American, competing for a Butkus Award — all of those things are sitting in front of him… He would likely be a captain, as well.”
Previously, Nagy had publicly supported Heinecke on social media after the NCAA denied his eligibility waiver.
"When other players are being granted 7th and 8th years of football, CFB governing body has ruled Owen won't get a 4th year," Nagy wrote Jan. 30 on X. "Evidently, this walk-on's three games of lacrosse at Ohio State in 2021 couldn't be reconciled."
Several players across college football have filed for preliminary injunctions in recent memory, including Mississippi quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who won his case to return for the Rebels next season after leading the program to the College Football Playoff semifinals after transferring from Division II. Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris, meanwhile, lost his case for an injunction.
According to The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network, Heinecke's counsel submitted "notice of supplemental authority" earlier in the week of another student-athlete seeking an eligibility waiver, after the NCAA had previously stated Heinecke didn't show "evidence of how similarly situated student-athletes’ waiver requests have been adjudicated."
Heinecke finished 2025 with 74 total tackles with three sacks and a forced fumble. He had seven total tackles with a sack against Alabama in the CFP, and had a career-high 13 total tackles with a strip sack against Tennessee on the road in his first career start, which came in what was previously his fifth-to-last game of his college career.
He returns to a defense projected to be among the best in college football again in 2025, led by Venables calling the unit. He'll with 3-year starter Kip Lewis and Michigan transfer Cole Sullivan to form one of the most-experienced linebacker groups in the SEC.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oklahoma's Owen Heinecke wins eligibility court case to return in 2026
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