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OSU FOOTBALL | RECRUITING
STILLWATER — Finding the end zone, even in a practice setting, is a moment worth celebrating.
Unless, of course, you’re the scout team quarterback.
And you embarrass the first-string defense by rushing for a 40-yard touchdown — on your first day.
“The DC was mad at me, like ‘dude you don’t do that, dude the quarterback for the other team doesn’t do that,’” Oklahoma State’s new transfer quarterback Hauss Hejny said, recalling his first day on TCU’s scout team. “And I’m like, ‘I’m not going to sit here and take sacks because the other quarterback is slow.’ … It was a fun time, I enjoyed it.”
Of course, Hejny, who averaged 4.3 yards per carry for TCU in 2024 while playing in a reserve role that allowed him to maintain his redshirt, was never supposed to be on the scout team.
He spent the first half of the season with the third team unit, which often required him to shadow the first and second-string guys through drills, taking “mental reps.” It was fine at first, but eventually, Hejny felt restless and missed the game he loved playing so much.
“I just wanted those live game reps, and the only way I could do that was to go with the scout team,” Hejny said. “So I went to the coaches and asked them if I could go run the scout team offense. … I went up against the one defense every day, just having fun. There’s nothing to worry about over there. I could be myself and just play football which is what I’m good at.”
“I had a really good relationship with coach (Doug) Meacham while I was in high school,” Hejny said. “I mean, he was always up at my high school facility, because he was really good friends with my head coach and with our whole coaching staff. Like my high school offensive coordinator, I took a lot of coach Meacham’s plays and offensive philosophies, so I talked with coach Meacham a lot in high school.”
Hejny remembers Meacham, the new Oklahoma State offensive coordinator who coached receivers at TCU last season, coming up to the school and drawing up plays on the whiteboard that he and the Bearcats would run during the season.
That long-standing relationship built on trust and respect with Meacham is a big reason the former TCU backup finds himself in Stillwater now.
But that connection is far from the only reason he made the move. The dominos that brought Hejny to Stillwater have been setting up for some time.
One of his best childhood friends is a student at Oklahoma State and “one of the best receivers” he played with in high school, Jalen Pope, who has been with the football team since 2023.
Doug Meachum
Oklahoma State’s new quarterback coach Kevin Johns, was the one who Hejny committed to first when he was the offensive coordinator at Duke and that connection remained strong even when the reality of college athletics took Hejny to TCU and Johns to the Sooners, where he served as an analyst until his promotion to interim co-offensive coordinator late in the 2024 season.
“It was just the relationships, and it was just the stars really perfectly aligned in a way that only God could kind of put that thing together,” his father, Jesse Hejny, said.
While Oklahoma State emerged as something of a no-brainer for the Hejny family, the former 4-star high school prospect and top 20 transfer quarterback according to 247Sports, didn’t lack for options this offseason.
“There were other schools that were really interested in Hauss,” Jesse Hejny said. “Matter of fact, it probably got a little crazier this time. … There was a heavy amount of interest, more than I could have imagined, to be honest with you.”
When it came time to actually make the decision, Hauss struggled to come up with a reason why he shouldn’t go to Oklahoma State. The biggest red flag he could come up with was simply that Oklahoma State was not TCU.
“I’ve grown up a Horned Frog my whole life,” Hejny said. “So obviously felt good about that, that’s why I went there because I bled purple and love the university.”
Even now, Hejny has no ill will toward his previous school. Both of his parents represented TCU across three sports (football, women’s basketball, women’s track and field) when they were his age.
In fact, if Oklahoma State hadn’t recruited him from the portal, Hauss would have probably returned to Fort Worth for another season.
His father said TCU’s coaching staff certainly hoped he would stick around.
But the new Cowboy quarterback wanted a chance to chase his dreams, and that was one thing TCU wasn’t prepared to give him for at least another year, likely two.
“This has been his dream since he was a little kid,” his father said. “Man, he slept with a football since he was in Kindergarten, and all he’s ever wanted to do was be a starting Division I quarterback and do this whole thing.”
The newcomer to the room said he’s cherishing every late night he spends studying his new offense this offseason because starting would mean even more after spending a year buried on the depth chart.
“It just makes things like this opportunity a lot more special,” Hauss said. “Because I’m going to remember the feeling of sitting back there watching the other guys going, knowing I can make those plays.”
These days, Hejny is also thankful he asked the coaches to put him on the scout team at TCU. Making plays against the first-string defense helped him rediscover the confidence he lost when he wound up third on the depth chart, unable to fully engage with practice for the first half of the season.
Those reps also helped him improve, especially as a passer, which could prove critical since Hauss wasn’t asked to throw in any of his limited game appearances in 2024.
“Going against a one-defense speed helped my anticipation, just getting through reads quicker, knowing that windows are going to close faster,” Hauss said.
“It helped a lot of parts of my game. … Had to be extra precise with where I was throwing the ball because we didn’t have a bunch of guys who could just Moss dudes and make crazy plays (on the scout team). Which is fine because it allowed me to really hone in on details when it came to throwing with anticipation and accuracy.”
When asked about the days ahead, Hauss talks of the need to remain positive through the ups and downs. All he can do is make the most of the opportunity ahead, but don’t mistake his humble approach as a sign his focus is solely on winning the starting gig.
Hauss has his sights set on something much bigger.
“I don’t believe in setting low standards, … so I’m just going to do everything I can to help this team win a Big 12 Championship in 2025,” Hauss said.
OSU FOOTBALL | RECRUITING
How Hauss Hejny's journey perfectly aligned with becoming Oklahoma State's next quarterback
Tyler Waldrep
OSU Sports Writer
STILLWATER — Finding the end zone, even in a practice setting, is a moment worth celebrating.
Unless, of course, you’re the scout team quarterback.
And you embarrass the first-string defense by rushing for a 40-yard touchdown — on your first day.
“The DC was mad at me, like ‘dude you don’t do that, dude the quarterback for the other team doesn’t do that,’” Oklahoma State’s new transfer quarterback Hauss Hejny said, recalling his first day on TCU’s scout team. “And I’m like, ‘I’m not going to sit here and take sacks because the other quarterback is slow.’ … It was a fun time, I enjoyed it.”
Of course, Hejny, who averaged 4.3 yards per carry for TCU in 2024 while playing in a reserve role that allowed him to maintain his redshirt, was never supposed to be on the scout team.
He spent the first half of the season with the third team unit, which often required him to shadow the first and second-string guys through drills, taking “mental reps.” It was fine at first, but eventually, Hejny felt restless and missed the game he loved playing so much.
“I just wanted those live game reps, and the only way I could do that was to go with the scout team,” Hejny said. “So I went to the coaches and asked them if I could go run the scout team offense. … I went up against the one defense every day, just having fun. There’s nothing to worry about over there. I could be myself and just play football which is what I’m good at.”
Stars aligning in Stillwater
He didn’t always know it, but Hejny has been preparing to be Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback in 2025 since he was at Aledo High about 30 minutes west of Fort Worth.“I had a really good relationship with coach (Doug) Meacham while I was in high school,” Hejny said. “I mean, he was always up at my high school facility, because he was really good friends with my head coach and with our whole coaching staff. Like my high school offensive coordinator, I took a lot of coach Meacham’s plays and offensive philosophies, so I talked with coach Meacham a lot in high school.”
Hejny remembers Meacham, the new Oklahoma State offensive coordinator who coached receivers at TCU last season, coming up to the school and drawing up plays on the whiteboard that he and the Bearcats would run during the season.
That long-standing relationship built on trust and respect with Meacham is a big reason the former TCU backup finds himself in Stillwater now.
But that connection is far from the only reason he made the move. The dominos that brought Hejny to Stillwater have been setting up for some time.
One of his best childhood friends is a student at Oklahoma State and “one of the best receivers” he played with in high school, Jalen Pope, who has been with the football team since 2023.
Doug Meachum
Oklahoma State’s new quarterback coach Kevin Johns, was the one who Hejny committed to first when he was the offensive coordinator at Duke and that connection remained strong even when the reality of college athletics took Hejny to TCU and Johns to the Sooners, where he served as an analyst until his promotion to interim co-offensive coordinator late in the 2024 season.
“It was just the relationships, and it was just the stars really perfectly aligned in a way that only God could kind of put that thing together,” his father, Jesse Hejny, said.
While Oklahoma State emerged as something of a no-brainer for the Hejny family, the former 4-star high school prospect and top 20 transfer quarterback according to 247Sports, didn’t lack for options this offseason.
“There were other schools that were really interested in Hauss,” Jesse Hejny said. “Matter of fact, it probably got a little crazier this time. … There was a heavy amount of interest, more than I could have imagined, to be honest with you.”
When it came time to actually make the decision, Hauss struggled to come up with a reason why he shouldn’t go to Oklahoma State. The biggest red flag he could come up with was simply that Oklahoma State was not TCU.
“I’ve grown up a Horned Frog my whole life,” Hejny said. “So obviously felt good about that, that’s why I went there because I bled purple and love the university.”
Even now, Hejny has no ill will toward his previous school. Both of his parents represented TCU across three sports (football, women’s basketball, women’s track and field) when they were his age.
In fact, if Oklahoma State hadn’t recruited him from the portal, Hauss would have probably returned to Fort Worth for another season.
His father said TCU’s coaching staff certainly hoped he would stick around.
But the new Cowboy quarterback wanted a chance to chase his dreams, and that was one thing TCU wasn’t prepared to give him for at least another year, likely two.
“This has been his dream since he was a little kid,” his father said. “Man, he slept with a football since he was in Kindergarten, and all he’s ever wanted to do was be a starting Division I quarterback and do this whole thing.”
Coming to compete
This spring Hauss will compete with returning Cowboys Garret Rangel, Zane Flores and Maealiuaki Smith in a position battle where none of the quarterbacks have significant experience in a starting role.The newcomer to the room said he’s cherishing every late night he spends studying his new offense this offseason because starting would mean even more after spending a year buried on the depth chart.
“It just makes things like this opportunity a lot more special,” Hauss said. “Because I’m going to remember the feeling of sitting back there watching the other guys going, knowing I can make those plays.”
These days, Hejny is also thankful he asked the coaches to put him on the scout team at TCU. Making plays against the first-string defense helped him rediscover the confidence he lost when he wound up third on the depth chart, unable to fully engage with practice for the first half of the season.
Those reps also helped him improve, especially as a passer, which could prove critical since Hauss wasn’t asked to throw in any of his limited game appearances in 2024.
“Going against a one-defense speed helped my anticipation, just getting through reads quicker, knowing that windows are going to close faster,” Hauss said.
“It helped a lot of parts of my game. … Had to be extra precise with where I was throwing the ball because we didn’t have a bunch of guys who could just Moss dudes and make crazy plays (on the scout team). Which is fine because it allowed me to really hone in on details when it came to throwing with anticipation and accuracy.”
When asked about the days ahead, Hauss talks of the need to remain positive through the ups and downs. All he can do is make the most of the opportunity ahead, but don’t mistake his humble approach as a sign his focus is solely on winning the starting gig.
Hauss has his sights set on something much bigger.
“I don’t believe in setting low standards, … so I’m just going to do everything I can to help this team win a Big 12 Championship in 2025,” Hauss said.
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