Josh Heupel

Josh Heupel grew up in Aberdeen, South Dakota. His father, Ken, was head football coach at Northern State, and his mother was a high school principal. He was South Dakota's player of the year at Central High School. He started his college career at Weber State, where he tore his ACL, then threw 28 touchdown passes at Snow College before committing to new OU coach Bob Stoops. In 2000 he led Oklahoma to an undefeated season and the national title with a 13–2 Orange Bowl win over Florida State. He was a consensus All-American, the AP Player of the Year, the Walter Camp Award winner and the Heisman runner-up that year. Miami drafted him in the sixth round, 177th overall, in 2001, but he never made an NFL roster after stints with the Dolphins and Packers. He became a coach and was OU's co-offensive coordinator until January 2015. After going 28–8 as head coach at UCF, he became Tennessee's 27th head coach in January 2021. The Oklahoman wrote on September 3, 2011: "Josh Heupel was 5 years old when he started following his dad Ken, then a high-school football coach in South Dakota, into the film room."