One of the more talented players on the Oklahoma Sooners‘ defensive roster is looking to stick around for a bit longer.
According to multiple reports, senior linebacker Owen Heinecke is filing an injunction with the NCAA in hopes of being granted a sixth year of eligibility. The injunction was filed on Monday morning in the Cleveland County district court.
Over the past several weeks, Heinecke has been preparing for the NFL draft, but has maintained that he is still weighing the pros and cons of making a leap to the NFL level versus potentially taking legal action against the NCAA to try to stay in Norman for another season.
Heinecke was named an All-SEC linebacker last year, posting 74 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and three sacks. In his three-year career at Oklahoma, Heinecke has a total of 85 tackles. The senior began his college career playing lacrosse at Ohio State in 2021, and appeared in just three games for the Buckeyes before deciding to transfer to Oklahoma, where he became a walk-on linebacker in 2022. Heinecke did not play in 2022 but was a full-time special-teams player in 2023 and 2024 before finding a role on defense in 2025.
“OU fully supports Owen Heinecke and his pursuit of a fair opportunity to continue playing the game he loves,” Oklahoma athletics director Roger Denny said in a statement released Monday morning. “We’ll stand firmly beside him as he works to do just that.”
An emergency hearing of Heinecke’s injunction has been set for Thursday, April 16 at 8:30 a.m. in front of Judge Thad Balkman.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Oklahoma Sooners LB Owen Heinecke files for 6th year of eligibility
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