Jarrail Jackson wasn’t expecting visitors when he heard a knock at the door a few months before the 1999 college football season began. Josh Heupel had just transferred to the University of Oklahoma from Snow College in Utah and wanted Jackson to run routes.
“I was like, ‘who the hell are you?’” Jackson recalls. “I had about five or six quarterbacks before him, and he was the first one that came and demanded us to catch passes. But we followed his lead, and it turned out well.”
Heupel starred for the Sooners for two seasons, leading them to a national title and undefeated season as a senior in 2000. He was named Associated Press Player of the Year and was runner-up for the Heisman trophy.
Heupel’s departure at OU, however, was bittersweet after he was fired in 2014 by head coach Bob Stoops following eight years on staff as either the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Heupel will be returning to Norman for the first time as a head coach Saturday when No. 6 Tennessee (3-0) plays No. 15 Oklahoma (3-0) in their first meeting as SEC opponents (6:30 p.m. CDT, ABC).
“It will be unique going back into that stadium,” Heupel says. “It’s going to be a different viewpoint; I’m not sure I have ever spent a day on the opposing sideline inside that stadium, not even for a scrimmage.
“It’ll be different, but it’s one that I am really looking forward to. There are so many people that 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’s former OU teammates will be paying close attention as their quarterback tries to lead the Vols to victory on a field where they created numerous memories together during college.
“My hope is that people appreciate him and what he did for the university as a player and as an assistant coach all those years,” says Stephen “Bubba” Burcham, OU’s center and a team captain in 2000. “After the game, we’re going to be huge fans, and he’s going to be my buddy. But during the game, we want to beat them. That’s just competition. That’s how it is.”
Coming off a 71-0 drubbing of Kent State and with College Football Playoff aspirations very much in play, former OU offensive lineman Scott Kempenich doesn’t expect Heupel to have any mercy for the Sooners to open SEC play.
“I expect him to come in and hang a half-a-hundred on us if he can,” says Kempenich, the superintendent for Poteau Public School. “He is a competitor, and as a competitor he wants to dominate every game he plays.”
Heupel was given the nickname “Hype” at OU and was known for his calm demeanor and coolness under pressure. His actions spoke just as loudly as his words on and off the field.
“He was a very strong leader. He kind of set the tone,” Burcham says. “He had extremely high expectations for himself, so it kind of raised everyone else’s level of expectations as well. He was always going above and beyond what was expected of him, so everyone respected him for the effort that he put into it.”
Destined to coach
Former OU wide receiver and defensive back Andre Woolfolk knew Heupel would make a successful head coach from watching how he prepared for games and absorbed information.
“Josh was the very first player I was around that the second I started to understand things the way that he saw them it made me a better football player,” says Woolfolk, who was drafted by the Titans in 2003 and is now a project director for a restoration contractor.
“Just because it kind of challenged the mental side of the game, more so than just what we’re doing physically. He found a way to tap into the other side of the game, which was kind of a doorway into having extra success.”
The late Mike Leach was the offensive coordinator at OU when he helped recruit Heupel to play for the Sooners. He saw the potential in the left-hander from South Dakota while Heupel was playing at Snow College.
Heupel gleaned some of his fast-paced offensive principles from Leach’s Air Raid scheme. This season, the Vols lead the nation in scoring offense (63.7 points per game) and rank second in yards per game (639.3).
“With Coach Leach, we would practice no-huddle on the ball. But it was a huddle up during the games. It wasn’t until after we quit playing that the no huddle became normal,” said Burcham, who coaches youth football. “But to see what Josh is able to produce on the field, there is no doubt in my mind he gets it. He understands the game quite well. He has a great coaching pedigree and he’s a great one.”
A tradition unlike any other
Amid all the highs and lows they shared together, Heupel’s OU teammates distinctly remember his unique pregame ritual.
“He would puke his guts out,” Woolfolk says with a laugh. “We would go through our pregame workout and once we got back before we took the field, he went over there and gave up all of his breakfast. Hopefully some nutrients stayed down. But it wasn’t so much of a sign of nervousness or anything like that. It almost seemed like it became a routine. I always wonder now, does he do the same thing as a coach?”
Jackson, the head football and baseball coach at Texas College in Tyler, has kept in contact with Heupel throughout their careers. He is close with Heupel’s parents and has coached Heupel’s nephew. Jackson likes to joke about how Heupel “cheats” at certain games during camps and teases Heupel about his athletic skills.
“He can’t play basketball. He tries, but he can’t,” Jackson says. “He thinks he has a jump shot, but he doesn’t.”
Jackson expects OU to produce some kind of tribute for Heupel’s return to Norman. He believes Heupel will enjoy seeing familiar faces and rekindle some good memories. However, Jackson knows Heupel will be motivated to show the Sooners what they are missing.
“I think he probably got a sour taste in his mouth from the way he left. He’s gonna be gunning to get after them,” Jackson says. “But I think it’ll be a great reunion. I think once it kicks off, it’ll be football. It’ll go back to normal.”