Mark Stoops shares his familiarity with Josh Heupel ahead of Kentucky-Tennessee

Mark Stoops and Tennessee coach Josh Heupel do have a bit of history together, which the Kentucky head coach shared ahead of the duo’s second meetup this coming Saturday. Heupel, who arrived at Tennessee by way of UCF, was once a coach under both of Mark’s brothers, Mike Stoops and Bob Stoops.

Mike was the coach at Arizona for a while, where Mark also coached as a younger man, but so did Josh Heupel. And, crazily enough, Heupel’s time with the Wildcats out west came between stints in Oklahoma, where the other Stoops, Bob, coached for years.

So check out Coach Stoops explain where he and Josh Heupel first met on the coaching trail and how much respect he has for the job that Heupel has done thus far.

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“Well of course I got to know Josh through the years. He worked for both my brothers. So I don’t remember the exact year we worked together at Arizona. But I think he was working at for Oklahoma — obviously played for Oklahoma, great quarterback there and won the national championship. And then Mike [Stoops] hired him as one of his early jobs, I want to say, and did a great job for us. I think it was one quick year, but you know, worked at Arizona and then went back to work in Oklahoma.”

Stoops was then asked about Tennessee’s up-tempo style on offense under Josh Heupel. To which he credited both the fast playing style and the speed at which he was able to turn the Volunteer program into a national contender.

“I mean, well you have to give them credit for how fast they’re playing. You know, how fast he turned it, if you will. I mean, they’ve always been a quality program with great players, there’s there’s no question. But Josh has done a remarkable job, man. You have to give him credit for what he’s done and the the success that he had, the winning that he did, both at UCF and at Tennessee. And to some extent, no it doesn’t surprise you. Josh has always been a winner and has done a great job as a head coach at both places.”