Owen Heinecke emerges as real weapon for OU in breakout performance vs. Michigan
NORMAN — Through his first two seasons, Owen Heinecke often had to sneak his way onto the practice field.
The former walk-on would force himself into the linebacker rotation during practice, which would irritate OU head coach Brent Venables. But Heinecke was simply looking for an opportunity.
In the Sooners’ 24-13 win over No. 15-ranked Michigan, Heincke got that opportunity and he proved he belonged on the field. The redshirt junior led the Sooners with seven tackles, adding a tackle for loss and the team’s lone pass break up.
It was a breakout performance for Heinecke, who had the chance to reflect on his journey after the game.
“It’s a lot of answered prayers and a lot of hard work,” Heinecke said. “A lot of people are like, ‘Do you think you would have been here? If you could have told yourself you’d be here three years ago would you believe it?’ I always say yeah, this is what I’ve dreamed of. My work has reflected that. I’ve got family who has supported me all the way and paid for school while I was a walk-on for three years.
So just really grateful to everyone that’s been a part of the journey and helped me to get where I am right now. And it’s also really awesome to be out there and get to wear the Sooner jersey and be a part of a big game like this because there’s really nothing like it.”
It wasn’t just a proud moment for Heinecke. He proved he can be counted on moving forward.
While Kip Lewis and Kobie McKinzie drew the start at linebacker, Heinecke was next up in the rotation. He played 23 snaps — the third most among OU’s linebackers, per Pro Football Focus — and finished with the best performance grade (75.2) of any player on OU’s defense.
Through two games, Heinecke has played 42 snaps. He played 30 total snaps through his first two seasons.
Even before OU’s clash with Michigan, Venables bragged about Heinecke’s resillience.
“He’s doing incredibly well,” Venables said. “Really proud of Owen, and the same thing is, he’s got a stick-to-it-ness about him, he’s got a bad case of the wants. And he’s created opportunity for himself through a lot of hard work. He kept trying to throw himself into practice the last couple of years prior to this year. He’d sneak in there in the rotation and I’d go over there and rip him out.
“I was literally telling the team this story yesterday, trying to just show them they see Owen like he is right now, but that’s not how this movie started, and for a lot of young guys that were sitting out there, how do you create opportunity for yourself? This game don’t wait on nobody. So, if you want your opportunity, man you’ve got to go get it and this is a shining example. And when you don’t get it right away, you don’t give in, you keep coming after it, you keep throwing haymakers and eventually you’ll break through. Sometimes sooner, sometimes later and he’s a great example of that.”
Heinecke’s journey has been inspiring for his teammates, too. Just ask Jaren Kanak, who spent a lot of time with Heinecke before transitioning from linebacker to tight end.
“Nothing gets me more fired up than Owen Heinecke,” Kanak said. “He’s just everything that this program is about and just starting as a walk-on, earning a scholarship, tough-ass dude, making his own way and going out and making tons of plays. Just an incredible dude. There’s not a guy on this team that I appreciate and love more than Owen Heniecke. I love to play next to him and play for him.”
His performance against Michigan was a true breakthrough, and it showed he can contribute for the Sooners this season. Now, it’s about building off that performance.
“This has been my dream since I was little,” Heinecke said. “My uncle played here and from the moment I can remember, I was in OU gear. So to be able to run out onto the field is what I’ve always dreamed of. And I knew I wasn’t going to get there sitting on the sideline, so I had to take a chance on myself and bet on myself and that came at the expense of Coach V’s patience and really proud that it worked out.”