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Tennessee TE lauds Josh Heupel’s selfless mindset ahead of Oklahoma bout

Sean Labar

By Sean Labar

Published:

Tennessee is heading into Norman on Saturday to battle Oklahoma — a place Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel is plenty familiar with. Heupel is one of the most revered QBs in Sooners history.

According to Wes Rucker, who covers the Vols for 247Sports, tight end Miles Kitselman was asked about Heupel’s return to Oklahoma this weekend. It’s clear the Vols’ front man has made a point to not make this weekend game about him, but instead focus on the task ahead.

“TE Miles Kitselman said Josh Heupel hasn’t said anything to the team about this being a homecoming for him at Oklahoma this week, but that’s not surprising because Heupel never makes anything about him,” Rucker posted on X. “He said it’s about Tennessee vs. Tennessee this week (preparation).”

During his playing career at Oklahoma, he was recognized as a consensus All-American, won numerous awards, and led Oklahoma to the 2000 BCS National Championship.  Heupel was the runner-up to win the Heisman trophy in 2000 and led the Sooners to an undefeated season that closed out with a national title victory over Florida.

After his playing career came to an end, Heupel took a position as a graduate assistant with Oklahoma in 2004 and, after one season as the tight ends coach in Arizona, returned where he was on the Sooners’ offensive staff from 2006 to 2014.

Heupel was ultimately fired after the 2014 season and climbed the ranks again as an assistant at Utah State and Missouri before getting the UCF head coaching job in 2018. After leading UCF to 3-straight bowl games, Tennessee hired Heupel in January of 2021.

Sean Labar

Sean Labar is an SEC football contributor for Saturday Down South.

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