'We're going to get you in great shape' — Rick Barnes had a hilarious response to Josh Heupel during the annual Tennessee Big Orange Caravan event
Look, while Tennessee fans – and fans of all other teams and sports – hope their school goes undefeated, there's only one thing that's undefeated – time. It catches up to all of us, including physically. That fact of life was intimated by Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel during the school's annual Big Orange […]
Look, while Tennessee fans – and fans of all other teams and sports – hope their school goes undefeated, there's only one thing that's undefeated – time. It catches up to all of us, including physically.
That fact of life was intimated by Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel during the school's annual Big Orange Caravan event taking place across the state this week.
While head basketball coach Rick Barnes was talking about things they're looking for in a player – can shoot, knows what it's like to win a national championship, has a high competitive level in their DNA – Heupel chimed in "that sounds a lot like me."
Barnes' response was amusing, to put it mildly.
"Well, I was going to say," Barnes responded. "We pride ourselves most of all to taking guys that are out of shape and getting them in shape. So, I literally woke up the other night and called one of my assistants and said 'does Josh have any eligibility' because he tells everybody he's the best shooter on campus. So, I'm going to give you a chance. I want you to spend six weeks with me and my strength coach. We're going to get you in great shape."
"Make sure we've got a medical team on site," Heupel responded among the ongoing laughter from the crowd.
Heupel was a championship athlete as a Heisman Trophy finalist and national championship QB at Oklahoma. Of course, like the vast majority of us that are well past our college days (let's just say my stomach is far from flat like it used to be in college), weight gain is a real thing, and Heupel…well…hasn't exactly maintained that svelte look from his playing days.
But the thing to take away from it is the rapport and relationship the coaches have for each other, which was evident last year when Heupel and Barnes made the trip to Omaha to watch Tony Vitello and the Vols win their first-ever national title. It's a close-knit relationship between the programs and it speaks to the success each respective program has had and the respect that each coach has for the other.
Tennessee's coaching staff has seemed like a brotherhood. And sometimes brothers like to take a playful dig at each other.
Former Tennessee Vols star Christian Moore had a very familiar performance in Knoxville on Tuesday night
The VFL looked like his old self in his old stomping ground
