Get To Know New UT Head Football Coach Josh Heupel
New Tennessee Athletic Director Danny White has hired Josh Heupel to head up the Volunteer football program. Heupel will take over a program that is coming off of a 3-7 season and facing possible NCAA sanctions. Heupel has extensive accomplishments throughout his football career as a player, assistant coach, and a head coach in his own right. These are some of the qualifications for Tennessee’s new head coach.
Highly Successful College Quarterback
As a player, Heupel was one of the most decorated players in Oklahoma history. He was a reco d setting quarterback for the Sooners and was drafted to the NFL. According to his UCF biography, as a player: "Heupel was a national championship-winning quarterback at Oklahoma. He was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2000 while leading the Sooners to a victory over Florida State in the 2001 Orange Bowl, sealing the national title for the Sooners. In 2001, Heupel was the Associated Press Player of the Year, Walter Camp Award winner, Archie Grifin Award winner and a consensus All-America performer. During his two seasons as the starting quarterback at Oklahoma, Heupel posted a 20-5 record. He passed for 7,456 yards and 53 TDs. Overall, he still ranks among OU’s top three quarterbacks in passing yards, completions and TD passes, despite playing just two seasons. He was a junior college All-America performer at Snow College in Utah in 1999, throwing for 2,308 yards and 28 TDs. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins."
Highly Successful QB Developer as a Coach
Heupel has been an excellent developer of quarterbacks at each of his coaching stops. Whether as a head coach or an assistant, Heupel has been able to groom excellent quarterbacks. Some of the players he has helped to develop are listed below.
Dillon Gabriel (Head Coach UCF): UCF freshman passing yards record-setter with 3,653 (2019)
McKenzie Milton (Head Coach UCF): 2018 AAC Offensive Player of the Year
Drew Lock (Offensive Coordinator Missouri): SEC single-season TD pass record-setter with 44 (2017)
Landry Jones (Quarterback Coach/Offensive Coordinator Oklahoma): 2010 Sammy Baugh Award winner; finished No. 3 in NCAA career passing yards and No. 5 in career TD passes
Sam Bradford (Quarterback Coach Oklahoma): 2008 Heisman Trophy winner; No. 1 overall pick in 2010 NFL Draft
Jason White (Graduate Assistant Oklahoma): 2003 Heisman Trophy winner
Heupel has helped produce three quarterbacks taken in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft in Bradford (1), Locke (42), and Jordan Love (26) who he was the primary recruiter for at Utah State.
Experienced Designer of Productive Offenses
In his career, Heupel has regularly been involved as the architect of some of the most potent offenses in college football. During his time at Oklahoma, Heupel served as a graduate assistant, a quarterback coach, and an offensive coordinator. During his decade spent with the Sooners, Heupel worked with a pair of Heisman Trophy winners, as well as another quarterback invited to New York in Landry Jones. The Oklahoma offenses that Heupel ran were some of the most productive in terms of yards and scoring in NCAA history. The production followed him both to Utah State where the offense was led by star quarterback Chuckie Keaton until he was lost for the season with injury, and to Missouri, where the Tigers put up eye-popping numbers with Drew Locke at the helm. As much as Heupel is tied to the quarterbacks of his offenses, it is important to note that he has also developed multiple NFL prospects at multiple positions.
When Heupel was given the opportunity to be a head coach for the first time, he took over a UCF Knights program that was coming off a perfect season and a claimed share of a National Championship in 2017 under Scott Frost. The bar was high for Heupel when he took over at UCF, and he responded with an undefeated regular season and AAC Title in 2018. The Knights gave LSU all they wanted in a New Year’s Six game, without star quarterback McKenzie Milton. The Knights ended the 2018 season at eleventh in the final polls. Heupel followed up the 2018 campaign with another 10-win season in 2019, where the Knights went 10-3 with a bowl victory. UCF in 2019 and 2020 dealt with multiple key injuries on offense, including quarterbacks McKenzie Melton and Dillon Gabriel. 2020 was also difficult for the Knights in terms of opt-outs due to COVID-19, where UCF had 10 starters opt out in a season which ended with a 6-4 record and a bowl loss. Heupel leaves Orlando with a 28-8 head coaching record and an offense that ranked in the top ten nationally each season.
Heupel comes to Tennessee with experience as a head coach, and as a winning head coach at that. Heupel has been successful throughout his career as a quarterback coach, offensive coordinator, and head coach. He has SEC experience and significant success. Heupel has developed players that have won and been in the discussion for the Heisman Trophy, as well as putting multiple players into the NFL. Heupel has extensive Power Five experience as an assistant coach before moving into the role of a successful head coach. Throughout his career, Heupel has regularly been involved with some of the most potent offenses in all of college football. He arrives at Tennessee with some quality offensive players in place as well as the makings of a strong defensive staff already hired, led by Kevin Steele. The results of the NCAA investigation loom over Tennessee, but Heupel has the opportunity to be successful in Knoxville.
