South Dakota Native and Vols HC Heupel Returns to Oklahoma Sat.

Josh Heupel remains one of the favorite sons of Oklahoma Sooner football.

After arriving on the scene in Norman in 1999, the Aberdeen, South Dakota native electrified Sooner nation, and led the team to a BCS National Title the following season.

In his two-year career at OU, Heupel threw for over 6,800 yards and 50 touchdowns, and was the Heisman Trophy runner up in 2000 during that title run.

Get our free mobile app

Check out this throwback to Heupel's day as a Sooner standout:

Now, he has his Tennessee Volunteers ranked in the top 10 nationally and set to face his former team in Norman on Saturday night in the marquee game in the college football world in Week 4.

The 6th-rated Volunteers collide with 15th ranked Oklahoma on Saturday night at 6:30 on ABC.

Here's Heupel talking about Oklahoma Sooner Head Coach Brent Venables ahead of the matchup:

It's a game that surely means a ton to Heupel, who unceremoniously exited the coaching staff at Norman early in his coaching career:

Heupel became the quarterbacks coach for Oklahoma in 2006.^[26]

 

On December 13, 2010, Bob Stoops named Heupel and Jay Norvell as co-offensive coordinators at Oklahoma, replacing Kevin Wilson, who had accepted the head coaching job at Indiana. Stoops said Heupel would be in charge of calling offensive plays during games.^[29] Heupel's contract was not renewed in January 2015 following an 8–5 season capped by a 40–6 loss to Clemson in 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl.^[30][31]

There's a full-scale write up on those happenings at ESPN, including Heupel's journey back to his collegiate home this weekend.

Following said dismissal, Heupel journeyed to Utah State and then Missouri before landing his first Head Coaching position at UCF. After three successful seasons there, Heupel was hired to lead the Volunteers into a new era.

Just 3+ years into that position in Knoxville, things have begun to swing the Vols way.

Here's the Coach on the return to Norman:

Heupel and his staff have already won 30 games (including the 2022 Orange Bowl) against just 12 losses and are off and running this year at 3-0.

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava is one of many stars on a roster that has scored 51 or more points in every game this year, including a 71-0 victory last week over Kent State.

The opponent is a familiar one, and revenge is on tap coming up on Saturday Night in Norman.

Right now at ESPN Bet, it's the Vols that are the favored team on the road. Tennessee is a touchdown favorite at -7, and a ton of points are predicted as well, with an over/under set at 57.5.

Source: ESPN on MSN and Josh Heupel Wikipedia