Josh Heupel at Oklahoma: Tennessee coach's playing, coaching career with Sooners
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Josh Heupel's alma mater heads to Neyland Stadium for the first time in his tenure at Tennessee.
Heupel, who won the 2000 national championship as Oklahoma's starting quarterback, hosts the Sooners in a top-20 ranked matchup in Knoxville on Nov. 1, as he looks to move to 2-0 against OU since it moved to the SEC ahead of last season.
Heupel not only played at Oklahoma, but he was also a longtime coach there, eventually rising to offensive coordinator and playcaller.
The 47-year-old coach has plenty of former Sooners on his coaching staff, from offensive coordinator Joey Halzle to Seth Littrell, Heupel's former teammate that served as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator in 2024 before he was fired midseason.
Here's what to know of Heupel's career at Oklahoma ahead of his second-career game against his alma mater.
Josh Heupel coaching career at Oklahoma
Heupel was selected in the sixth round of the 2001 NFL Draft, but his playing career fizzled out quickly due to injuries, which also plagued him throughout his final season at Oklahoma.
He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Sooners in 2004, briefly becoming the tight ends coach at Arizona in 2005, joining forces with former Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, who was the Wildcats' head coach.
After one season at Arizona he returned to Oklahoma, this time as quarterbacks coach from 2006-10, where he coached eventual No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford and even Landry Jones, who's now an offensive analyst at Tennessee.
"I hope enough time (has gone by) that he still understands how much he means to this state, how much he means to the program," Bradford told ESPN in 2024. "I hope that he gets a warm reception. I hope that he's able to appreciate that and take that in before the game gets going."
Heupel was promoted to co-offensive coordinator from 2011-14 and called plays for the Sooners' offense. However, things didn't go to plan in his final season in Norman, as he was fired by Bob Stoops in a difficult decision that has fractured his relationship with the school. OU finished 21st nationally averaging 36.4 points per game in 2014 and scored 30 or more points in each of its games except for its loss to Baylor.
The move worked out for the Sooners, as they hired Lincoln Riley from East Carolina.
Heupel being fired by his former head coach, one he won a national title with, forced him to rebuild his coaching career. He then became the offensive coordinator at Utah State in 2015 before becoming the offensive coordinator at Missouri from 2016-17. Two successful stints led to him being hired as head coach at UCF, where he coached from 2017-20, before Tennessee came calling.
Heupel is also familiar with Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, who served as defensive coordinator of the Sooners at the same time as Heupel as co-offensive coordinator.
Heupel admitted prior to beating Oklahoma 25-15 last season it was quite weird being on the opposite sideline for the first time.
"It will be unique. I had teammates and friends back there hit me up a little bit," Heupel said. "It'll be a viewpoint I'm not sure I've ever spent a day on the opposing sideline inside of that stadium, not even for a scrimmage.
"So, it'll be different but it's one I'm really looking forward to. There are so many people who have been a huge part of my journey that I get a chance to go back and, hopefully, get a chance to say hi to a bunch of them."
Heupel said he wouldn't change anything on how his career played out. In fact, leaving his alma mater paved the way for where he is now, he said.
“Proud of a lot of what we did while I was there,” Heupel said before the game in 2024, “but I wouldn’t change anything.”
Was it a blessing in disguise?
“Yeah,” Heupel said. “Absolutely.”
Josh Heupel playing career at Oklahoma
Heupel was far from a heralded recruit, but he was the perfect fit for Oklahoma when he transferred in 1999.
The left-handed quarterback from South Dakota started his career at Weber State before transferring to Snow College, a two-year school. He didn't have the biggest arm, but he was smart and accurate, which was exactly what first-year offensive coordinator Mike Leach was looking for.
"I have no idea how Leach found Josh Heupel," Steve Spurrier Jr., who was part of Stoops' first coaching staff at OU, told ESPN. "But one of the really important variables for Leach when he recruited quarterbacks was, what kind of completion percentage did they have? He doesn't have to hit deep balls. Doesn't have to have a really strong arm. But he has to throw completions. That was always crucial in his offense. And that was always crucial in his evaluation of quarterbacks."
Oklahoma offensive staffer Cale Gundy echoed the same sentiment.
"Josh was a QB rat. He wasn't into going out and partying. He was a football junkie," Gundy told ESPN. "That was perfect for Mike Leach, because obviously Mike liked to stay up late at night."
Heupel, of course, went on to lead Oklahoma to a perfect record in 2000, winning the national championship while finishing runner-up in the Heisman Trophy race. The Sooners finished 7-5 in Heupel's first season as starter in 1999.
The consensus All-American was a true leader. And according to those around him at the time, he played a key role in jumpstarting Stoops' successful era at Oklahoma.
"I have this deep appreciation for Josh, certainly first and foremost as a player," Venables said in 2024. "I've always looked back and said, 'Man, we couldn't have done it without Heupel.' His leadership, what he was able to do from a transformation standpoint to our locker room, the guts and the toughness that he played through. … I've always held him up here on this pedestal, from a player's standpoint."
Josh Heupel college stats
- 1999 (Oklahoma): 310 of 500 passing (62%) for 3,460 yards with 30 touchdowns to 15 interceptions
- 2000 (Oklahoma): 280 of 433 passing (64.7%) for 3,392 yards with 20 touchdowns to 14 interceptions
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Josh Heupel at Oklahoma: Revisiting career as player, coach with Sooners
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