Dan Fleser
Josh Heupel wasn’t scheduled to arrive in Oklahoma until this Friday. A playing date with a new SEC rival was entered in the Tennessee football coach’s daily planner for Saturday.
His past couldn’t wait that long.
Former teammates and friends, among others, started hitting him up last week. The Vols’ first true road game of the season, in many respects, will feel more like going home for Heupel. He played quarterback for the Sooners, leading them to a national championship and 13-0 record in 2000. He was good enough to be runner-up for the Heisman Trophy that season. He later coached eight years for the program. He left his mark and OU reciprocated.
“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 said. “It starts with teammates; it’s coaches that I had; it’s a lot of coaches that I coached with and a lot of personnel that are still there.”
As if that’s not enough familiarity, somewhere back there, awaits a guy who was part of Heupel’s wedding party. Think of him as a different sort of teammate.
Heupel, who isn’t the forthcoming type, seemed comfortable, even jocular occasionally, during his Monday press conference when fielding questions about his Oklahoma experience. He wasn’t queried about the ending. He was fired as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2014. Then-head coach Bob Stoops, who did the firing, wouldn’t do any interviews this week regarding either Heupel or Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, who also served on Stoops’ staff.
“All attention needs to be on those two coaches (and) their programs,” said Stoops in a pre-emptive social media post last weekend.
I know from personal experience that being dismissed from a place where you invested a lot of yourself is, well, awkward. Most of your memories are positive and involve experiences you shared with others there. Being fired is a lonely exception. It’s like getting injured during a game. Everyone gathers around in the immediate aftermath to show their concern and support. But eventually the game goes on without you.
Saturday’s game eventually will eclipse all other Oklahoma-related considerations for Heupel. It’s a major early season showdown, and the outcome will create quite the ripple effect. The setting will challenge the Vols’ composure. It also could enhance the Sooners’ knack for creating turnovers. They’ve gathered 10 through three games.
“When you have the ball in your hands, they are extremely active,” Heupel said. “Punching, ripping, putting their hat on the ball. They have changed the way the game is played with a lot of those turnovers.”
Heupel concluded on Monday that the sum of his Oklahoma experiences amounted to a necessary prelude to becoming Tennessee’s head coach. In his present role then, he will reference his past on Saturday. I imagine he will be fired up to do so.
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a member of the Tennessee Sportswriters, U.S. Basketball Writers and Greater Knoxville Sports Halls of Fame. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.