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OU football general manager, redshirt senior quarterback John Mateer and former linebacker Danny Stutsman posted reactions after a Cleveland County judge granted Owen Heinecke an injunction for another year of eligibility.

Nagy, who testified during Heinecke’s court hearing, expressed his excitement  to have the redshirt senior linebacker back for 2026 on social platform X.

Mateer reposted a picture of Heinecke on his Instagram story following the decision.

Stutsman, who is now with the New Orleans Saints in the NFL, was teammates with Heinecke in 2023-24, and the former linebacker donated $50,000 of his own name, image and likeness money to the walk-ons on the 2024 team.

Stutsman jokingly asked Heinecke to “repay” him, with the current Sooner expected to be a major contributor in 2026 after recording 74 tackles in 2025.

Heinecke testified before Judge Thad Balkman, an OU law graduate, on the basis that he has played only three seasons of college football, though the NCAA’s rules give every student-athlete four. Heinecke added he was prevented from playing football his freshman year at Ohio State due to COVID-related recruiting disruptions, injuries and the program not holding walk-on tryouts until spring 2022. He ultimately played lacrosse for the school.

Heinecke is expected to participate in OU’s spring game at noon Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.

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