How Josh Heupel can connect with players in a unique way that most head coaches can't
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel has helped create a new culture in Knoxville over the last two years. The change in the atmosphere at Tennessee under Heupel happened remarkably quickly. Not long after Heupel arrived, it felt like players instantly had a new outlook on playing for the Vols. Part of the reason that […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel has helped create a new culture in Knoxville over the last two years.
The change in the atmosphere at Tennessee under Heupel happened remarkably quickly.
Not long after Heupel arrived, it felt like players instantly had a new outlook on playing for the Vols.
Part of the reason that Heupel was able to change the culture so quickly is because he's been the key cog in a championship program before. Heupel led the Oklahoma Sooners to a national championship in 2000 after going 7-5 the previous season. He knows what it takes to turn a program around from personal experience, which helps him create an authentic connection with players.
Another way that Heupel connects with players is via draft preparation. Heupel went through the NFL draft process after finishing as the runner-up in the Heisman voting in 2000. He dealt with plenty of scrutiny from draft analysts, too.
The former Sooners quarterback has used that experience to help advise former Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker (and his former Tennessee teammates) on what to expect leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft.
“The draft process for everybody, as soon as you’re declared, is them trying to find a reason not to draft you, and prognosticators are going to build you up and bring you on back down to earth," said Heupel on Wednesday at the Big Orange Caravan in Nashville. "At the same time, at the end of the day, you can only control what you can control. Enjoy the process. It doesn’t matter who, when, where. Man, you’re in the NFL, you’ve got a chance to go live it out."
“On the back half of this process, when those guys were done with Pro Day, I told them, told them all, man, ‘Enjoy it from here until draft day.’ That’s one of the things that if I look back, I would have tried to enjoy the process more. Really excited for these guys.”
Heupel's NFL career was short-lived. He wasn't an early-round draft choice (he was selected in the sixth round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins), but he still went through the process. And he dealt with analysts ripping apart his game to find flaws. What Tennessee's draft-eligible players are going through now, Heupel went through over 20 years ago.
Everything that the players at Tennessee are working to accomplish — getting drafted, winning a championship, etc — Heupel's done. He can offer genuine advice because he's already lived it.
Heupel is the only head coach in the SEC that won a national championship as a player. He's also the only SEC head coach that was selected in the NFL draft. Heupel can connect with players in a way that no other coach in the SEC can. That's one of the main reasons why Heupel's been able to create a culture that players love. And it's why that culture will continue to thrive on Rocky Top for years to come.
