How Josh Heupel made the day of a high school football coach in Tennessee
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel has quickly become one of the most likable personalities in college football. The former Oklahoma quarterback brings a refreshing genuineness and authenticity to the SEC, a conference where coaches can be vindictive and conniving. Heupel isn't afraid to enjoy the moment, but then he's right back to work. It's […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel has quickly become one of the most likable personalities in college football.
The former Oklahoma quarterback brings a refreshing genuineness and authenticity to the SEC, a conference where coaches can be vindictive and conniving.
Heupel isn't afraid to enjoy the moment, but then he's right back to work. It's a great balance that allows him to stay loose even on the biggest of stages.
Speaking of being loose on a big stage, if you've watched Heupel this week, you'd never know he's about to coach the biggest game of his life this weekend in Athens.
We've seen a relaxed Heupel all week. From his appearance on the College Football Playoff rankings reveal show to Vol Calls, it's been an easy-going Heupel all week.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that even though the Vols have a huge game against Georgia this weekend, Heupel still found time to make the day of a high school football coach in Tennessee.
Lookout Valley High School head coach Josh Payne is set to take his team to the playoffs and he received a good luck message from Heupel.
The only problem was that Payne didn't believe the message was actually from Heupel at first. So Tennessee's head coach sent a video message back in response to confirm his identity.
This is great on so many levels. Mostly, it shows that Heupel is just a legitimately good dude. These texts and exchanges between college head coaches and high school head coaches happen from time to time. Oftentimes, the exchanges are very transactional. After all, it's usually for recruiting purposes. And I'm sure there's some of that at play here with Heupel.
But I don't think there's any doubt that after watching the video of Heupel that UT's head coach is as genuine as it gets. That's part of the appeal when it comes to Heupel. He's just…real.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
