Gundy Said Hauss Hejny Was in No ‘Position to Come Back’ Against UT Martin

Hauss Hejny’s Cowboy debut was fun while it lasted.

Hejny went to the locker room late in the first quarter of Oklahoma State’s season opener against UT-Martin on Thursday night, with sideline reporter Robert Allen reporting that Hejny will be out for the remainder of the contest with a lower extremity injury.

“I won’t give injury updates either way,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said after the win. “I don’t know. I never will know on those until the next day, anyway, but both of those guys weren’t in a position to come back. But I’ll know more on it later.”

There are a few guys Gundy could be referring to there, including defensive end DeSean Brown. However, it seems most likely that the Cowboys coach is referring to starting center Kasen Carpenter, who left the game in the second half with a right leg injury, per Allen.

Austin Kawecki moved over from right guard to center when Carpenter went down.

Despite Gundy’s insistence that he doesn’t provide injury updates after games there have been times as recently as last season when the Cowboys coach suggested the player would miss a lot of time. So perhaps, Gundy’s refusal to comment means there is at least hope that Hejny could return to the lineup in the somewhat near future.

A transfer quarterback from TCU, Hejny led the Pokes on two straight touchdown drives to start Thursday’s game. He ran the first score in from six yards out before hitting Gavin Freeman on a short pass that Freeman scored on during the second drive.

In three drives, Hejny was 5-for-10 with 96 passing yards and the touchdown while running for another 27 yards. He leads the Cowboys in rushing and passing going into the half despite playing in only three series.

Hejny was the No. 12 quarterback in the 2024 class, according to 247Sports. He signed with TCU over offers from OSU, Duke, Baylor, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Houston and others.

He redshirted with the Horned Frogs last season while playing in four games. Although he didn’t throw a pass as a Horned Frog, he did run 65 yards.

Hejny transferred to OSU this offseason and competed alongside Zane Flores, Garret Rangel and Maealiuaki Smith in the spring. Rangel and Smith transferred out after the spring, and Hejny was named the starter earlier this week.