South Carolina · L 25-42
10 tackles, 1 for loss
The other 7 games average 8 tackles. This one was 2 above.
4 stories in the last 30 days, from 4 outlets.
Owen Heinecke
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Fourth year in the same linebacker corps at Oklahoma. The first one came in 2025: All-SEC. A game that shows it: 10 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against South Carolina — Week 9, 2026.
65 tackles · 3 sacks
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
65 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 8.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 4 outlets
OU linebacker Owen Heinecke making strong case for Butkus Award
On3 Oct 29 · 1 outlet
from 9 outlets
OU football names John Mateer, Owen Heinecke, 7 other Sooners captains for 2026 season
The Oklahoman +1 Aug 25 · 2 outlets
Yahoo SportsOklahoma Football's Kip Lewis & Owen Heinecke Named To Butkus Award Watch ListAug 14
Sports IllustratedOklahoma LB Owen Heinecke Named a Semifinalist for Butkus AwardOct 28On3OU linebacker Owen Heinecke making strong case for Butkus AwardOct 29Sports IllustratedHow Oklahoma LB Owen Heinecke's Unusual Offseason Helped him Improve his GameAug 4
OU DailyAn unexpected encore: OU LB Owen Heinecke's final seasonAug 10Sports IllustratedOwen Heinecke, Kip Lewis' Differing Personalities Have Elevated Oklahoma's LB RoomAug 22The Oklahoman +1OU football names John Mateer, Owen Heinecke, 7 other Sooners captains for 2026 seasonAug 25Sports IllustratedWhy Oklahoma LB Owen Heinecke Says There's 'No Dropoff' Between Starting, Backup DLsAug 24On3Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedThe Oklahoman +1Yahoo SportsOU DailySports IllustratedEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named Owen Heinecke at Michigan.
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Last game (Wk 9): 10 tackles, 1 tackle for loss.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 51-0vs UTEP | 7 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 10-17@ Michigan | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 14-6vs New Mexico | 8 | 5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 13-41@ No. 2 Georgia | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 27-24vs No. 1 Texas | 9 | 2 | 2.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 7 | L 13-21vs No. 15 Kentucky | 8 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 23-15@ Mississippi State | 10 | 7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 25-42vs South Carolina | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 65 | 31 | 8.5 | 3.0 | — | 0 |
Oct. 31 · L 25-42 vs South Carolina, play by play
10 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 11 for him; the box score credits 10.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 8 tackles for loss, 3 of them sacks, in the 7 games with play by play.
How Oklahoma’s defense played that day
South Carolina’s 12 drives: 6 stopped (3 takeaways) · 6 scored. While the game was within a score they held 3 of 6.
10 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 sack. His sack on 4th and 5 ended Mississippi State’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 8 of his 10, sacks included.
Sacked the quarterback for a 2-yard loss on 4th and 5. First quarter, up 3-0. Ended Mississippi State’s drive (downs).
Forced a fumble. Second quarter, up 3-0. Ended Mississippi State’s drive (fumble).
8 tackles. He hurried the quarterback twice.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 7 of his 8, sacks included.
9 tackles, including 2 more for loss, tied for 9th-most tackles for loss in FBS that week. He hurried the quarterback once.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 4 for him; the box score credits 3.
8 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 9 for him; the box score credits 8.
Sacked the quarterback for a 9-yard loss. Third quarter, up 14-6.
10 tackles, including 1 sack.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 11 for him; the box score credits 10.
Sacked the quarterback for a 2-yard loss. First quarter, tied 0-0.
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from +6 to +27 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
65tackles this seasonTFL rate
13%8 TFLSack rate
5%3 sacksPD rate
0%0 pass breakups65 tackles · 8.5 for loss · 3 sacks.
4 seasons under Brent Venables — 30-17 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 8.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 7.7 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 7.5 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 10.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brent Venables
Pass share
48.6%
250 pass / 264 run
Plays / game
64.2
8 games
Team sack rate
7.5%
293 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
2026 outlook
Outside shot to repeat All-SEC
Based on 2025: #14 of 76 SEC LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 30 games over four seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-SEC · 2ND TEAM
All-SEC 2nd team (2025)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2025)
SEC Defensive Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Brent Venables.
