Josh Heupel opens up on his return to Norman ahead of Tennessee vs. Oklahoma in Week 4
John Heupel joked on Monday that he’s expecting a quiet, respectful crowd in Norman when his Tennessee Volunteers meet Oklahoma in Week 4’s SEC opener this Saturday.
Heupel, a former Sooner and eventual quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator for OU from 2006-14, returns to Norman for the first time since he parted ways with the program a decade ago. Ahead of the matchup, the third-year Tennessee head coach revealed his mindset coaching against his alma mater for the first time.
“It will be unique,” Heupel told reporters. “I have teammates and friends back there. They hit me up a little bit early. They were starting last week already. It will be unique going back into that stadium. It’s going to be a (different) viewpoint. I am not sure I spent a day on the opposing sideline inside the stadium — not even for scrimmage. It will be different. But it is one that I am really looking forward to.
“There are so many people 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. It starts with teammates. It’s coaches that I had. It’s a lot of coaches that I coached with. There’s lot of personnel that are still there. Guys that I coached. Guy that was in my wedding. There’s a lot of people back there that I’m familiar with and have a lot of respect for.”
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Heupel played two years at Oklahoma after starting his college career at Weber State and Snow College at the JUCO level. He then got his coaching start with the Sooners in 2004 as a graduate assistant, then returned to Norman as quarterbacks coach from 2006-10. In 2011, Heupel moved up to offensive coordinator until his departure in 2014.
Heupel won a national championship as a player at Oklahoma and helped the Sooners to a Big 12 title as offensive coordinator. After his departure from OU, he spent a year at Utah State before becoming the offensive coordinator at Missouri from 2016-17.
In 2018, Heupel got his first head coaching opportunity at UCF, where he had a 28-8 record before taking over at Tennessee. He quickly turned the Vols around, going 30-12 over three seasons and winning the SEC’s Coach of the Year award in 2022.
It appears as though his team’s offensive firepower coupled with a stout defensive front this season has the Vols right in the mix to contend for an SEC Championship in 2024. That efforts starts on Saturday against the Sooners.