Bob Stoops made it clear how he hopes Josh Heupel is received by fans when Tennessee visits Norman to play Oklahoma
Former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops announced on Sunday night that he isn't doing interviews this week ahead of the Tennessee Vols' upcoming visit to Norman. Stoops tweeted that he wants the focus to be on Brent Venables and the Sooners and on Josh Heupel and the Vols this week. Heupel played for Stoops […]
Former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops announced on Sunday night that he isn't doing interviews this week ahead of the Tennessee Vols' upcoming visit to Norman.
Stoops tweeted that he wants the focus to be on Brent Venables and the Sooners and on Josh Heupel and the Vols this week.
Heupel played for Stoops from 1999 to 2000. He also coached under Stoops at Oklahoma from 2006 to 2014 (Heupel was fired by Stoops after the 2014 season). Venables, meanwhile, was Stoops' defensive coordinator in Norman from 1999 to 2011.
While Stoops won't be talking about the game this week, we already know how he feels about Heupel's return to Norman via some comments he made last December on his YouTube channel.
Stoops said late last year that he hopes Heupel receives an "incredible reception" from Sooners fans. He also noted that he thinks Heupel and his staff have done a great job so far at Tennessee.
"Everyone thought when Josh took that job — you know all the sanctions, all the penalties and the turmoil they were in from recruiting violations — didn't realize he could get it going that fast," said Stoops. "I anticipated, just for those reasons, that it was going to take a little bit. But he's overcome them quickly. What will matter, I think a little bit, is who graduates, who are the seniors leaving, who's back. But Josh and his staff have done a great job."
"I know he'll have an incredible reception here at OU when he enters the field and he should," added Stoops. "That'll be exciting."
This will be Heupel's first time back in Norman as a competitor since getting fired by Stoops after the 2014 season. Stoops is expected to be in attendance for the game, so it'll certainly be interesting to see if he has any pregame interactions with Heupel.
Recent comments from former Oklahoma DC Mike Stoops are ironic considering the way Josh Heupel was fired by Sooners
Wild the way that all went down
