Did Tennessee HC Josh Heupel win the Heisman Trophy? Exploring the former Oklahoma QB college career

Josh Heupel is the current head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, but he was also a great college player.

Heupel was the starting quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners, a consensus All-American and led the Sooners to the 2000 BCS National Championship.

In 2000, Heupel played in 13 games and passed for 3606 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. However, with Heupel being the starting quarterback of the National Champions, he finished second in Heisman voting in 2000. Florida State QB Chris Weinke won the Heisman instead of Heupel.

As a college quarterback with Oklahoma, Josh Heupel threw for 50 touchdowns and 30 interceptions, and over 7,000 yards.

Did Josh Heupel make the NFL?

Josh Heupel is the head coach of Tennessee.

After Josh Heupel led Oklahoma to an undefeated record and a National Championship, he was drafted in the sixth round with the 177th pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 2001 NFL Draft.

Although Heupel was drafted, he dealt with shoulder tendinitis in his throwing arm. He was relegated to the fourth string for the entire preseason and failed to make the team. He was later signed by the Green Bay Packers in the early 2002 offseason but was released a month before training camp.

After being cut by the Dolphins and Packers, Heupel then turned to coaching and never suited up for a regular-season NFL game.

Heupel spent years as an assistant coach for different schools and got his first head coaching role in 2018 as the head coach of UCF. As head coach, he went 28-8 and was hired by the Tennessee Volunteers. He led the Vols to a 7-6 and 11-2 record.

Heading into the 2023 season, Heupel has said he feels something special about this Tennessee group.

"You come out to the practice field and sometimes as a coach, man, it's hard to get in there (to coach), which is awesome," said Heupel. "You're like, alright, you got it. And I think that's when, you know, championship seasons happen because it comes from within that locker room. The locker room's different and they care about the success of the guys around them. They're knowledgeable enough to actually be invested in that process."

Although Josh Heupel never won a Heisman or made it to the NFL, he is hoping some of his players do just that.