How Owen Heinecke's return changes things for the Oklahoma Sooners

Heinecke's return is a big boost for the Sooners at inside linebacker, as he and Lewis will be back to be the starting tandem again in 2026. After both Sammy Omosigho and Kobie McKinzie hit the transfer portal this offseason, the Sooners were thin at inside linebacker behind Lewis. Now, they'll have one of the best duos in the entire country leading the way in the middle of the defense, while the depth develops behind them.

Michigan transfer Cole Sullivan will still be an extremely big part of the rotation for OU, but now he can learn Venables' defense from Lewis and Heinecke, instead of being thrown into a starting role right away. As a junior, Sullivan still has two seasons of eligibility left, and he will likely be the leader of the LB room in 2027, when Lewis and Heinecke are gone. With Heinecke back in the fold for 2026, the inside linebacker depth has gone from paper thin to one of the deeper position groups on the defense overnight. Players like James Nesta and Marcus James will still be counted upon to step up, but they won't be asked to play as large of roles with a starter now back on the roster.

With more depth at inside linebacker, the rest of OU's back seven may be able to breathe a little easier. Starting cheetah Kendal Daniels has exhausted his eligibility, meaning Reggie Powers III will now start at that spot. Jeremiah Newcombe looks like his backup, as Taylor Heim has suffered a potentially serious injury this spring. Venables has yet to confirm Heim's status, but it's reportedly a knee injury for the redshirt-junior.

With Powers and Newcombe spending a lot of time at cheetah, the safety and cornerback depth (respectively) gets pretty thin. Peyton Bowen, Michael Boganowski, and Omarion Robinson will man the safety spots, but OU is unproven behind them. Eli Bowen, Courtland Guillory, Jacobe Johnson, and Dakoda Fields should give the Sooners a good two-deep at CB, but there are some young and/or unproven players who will help man the Oklahoma secondary this year, especially with the cheetah position being thinner than it was last year.

However, the return of Heinecke can help to cover up some of the depth issues the Sooners still have defensively. Perhaps Sullivan can play some snaps at cheetah to free up Powers and Newcombe to play safety and cornerback, but even if not, having a player of Heinecke's caliber, who knows the scheme extremely well, can allow Venables to get more creative when calling the defense. Heinecke will be able to erase some of the potential mistakes from less experienced players at other spots on the defense, and that's all good news for Sooner Nation.

It's been a long road back to Norman for Heinecke, and there's still a likely appeal coming in his case. However, for the first time since December, he is now eligible for play for the Sooners in 2026. He was just getting started in 2025, when he onto the scene for OU in a big way. Now, he'll be back for one last ride, and back to help elevate the Oklahoma defense this fall.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: How does Owen Heinecke coming back change things for the Sooners?