Tennessee's matchup with Oklahoma marks a moment of closure for coaches Josh Heupel and Brent Venables

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables has watched Tennessee coach Josh Heupel give his all for the teams he cares about.

The duo was a key figure in Oklahoma's run to the national title in 2000, when Venables was in his second year as the Sooners' defensive coordinator and Heupel was the star quarterback, a Heisman Trophy finalist. In the midst of that undefeated season, Heupel injured the elbow on his throwing arm.

Heupel was hurt badly. Venables said during the SEC coaches' teleconference on Wednesday that there were times during the final five or six games of the season when Heupel's elbow swelled to the size of a watermelon.

“The way he did it, his toughness, was really incredible,” Venables said.

Despite that, Heupel never missed a game. He led Oklahoma's offense every step of the way, culminating in a win against Florida State in the Orange Bowl that gave the Sooners their first national championship since 1985. The 13-0 campaign cemented coach Bob Stoops, Venables and Heupel as legends of the program.

It's been nearly 25 years since that fateful season, but as Heupel embarks on his fourth season in Tennessee, the effects of that season — and the injury — still linger.

“Well, (the elbow) still doesn't look good if you look at it closely,” Heupel said. “There were also a couple scrapes and bruises that caused me some issues at the end of the year. That team, in general, the players' ability to be resilient, to play through everything they were going through, was a big part of why we were able to win a championship.”

There are plenty of storylines to unpack ahead of No. 6 Tennessee's trip to No. 15 Oklahoma on Saturday. It's the SEC conference opener for the Sooners, the conference opener for both teams and Heupel's first professional trip to his alma mater since leaving the coaching staff in 2014.

Among all those stories, the story between the two men who led their teams into battle cannot go unnoticed. It's a relationship that dates back to 1999, when Venables had been in Oklahoma for just a few months and Heupel, a little-known college prospect from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, came to Norman, Oklahoma for a recruiting visit.

Venables wasn't overly impressed with that first encounter. During his Tuesday news conference, he recalled thinking Heupel was a skinny, frail, pale quarterback who threw a shaky ball.

“I was probably a little bit pale,” Heupel said. “I was kind of in hibernation for the first part of my life. But when we got there, I certainly had to keep growing as a player. I may have always had a little bit of a wobble on my ball.”

But legendary Mike Leach (Oklahoma's offensive coordinator at the time) saw enough to seek out Heupel, whose accuracy and poise made him the perfect fit for Leach's system. That faith certainly paid off: Heupel threw for nearly 7,000 yards and had 62 total touchdowns in his two-year career with the Sooners.

He never won that Heisman, but he did finish as runner-up in 2000 and took home the Walter Camp Award, Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and All-American honors.

Needless to say, along the way he gained Venables' support.

“Probably his best quality was his poise, his control, his confidence in the players around him and he was as consistent as any player I've ever met,” Venables said.

Training side by side

Heupel went on to have a brief stint in the National Football League (NFL) After being left off the list in the sixth round of the 2001 draft, Venables remained with the team. He took on more responsibility in 2004 when he was named associate head coach and subsequently given sole control of the defence.

That coincided with Heupel's return to Norman as a graduate assistant. Heupel was rehired in 2006 as quarterbacks coach after one season as an assistant at Arizona, and in 2011 he was promoted to associate offensive coordinator.

Throughout this process, Venables was a mentor to the budding coach.

“I learned a lot of things from Brent,” Heupel said. “But as a player, you saw his energy and his passion, his focus every day. He was so consistent inside the building and in the meeting room and in his preparation. The detail he had in his preparation and how he gave himself to his players.

“I saw those same things as a coach, working with him there as well. Brent had a huge impact on my career.”

Venables and Heupel spent just one season in opposite positions. In January 2012, Stoops brought his younger brother, Mike, back to help with the defense. Instead of returning to his old defensive coordinator position, Venables left for Clemson.

A bitter division

Ironically, it was a 40-6 loss to Venables and Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl that marked the end of Heupel's time at Oklahoma. The former hero quarterback and longtime assistant was fired as the team's offensive coordinator shortly after the game. The pain of that decision It is well advertisedTen years later, Heupel sees the whole saga as a blessing in disguise.

“I'm lucky and blessed to be here. I love Rocky Top and I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful people along the way that have influenced me, but Oklahoma impacted me in that way as well,” Heupel said. “As a player, the relationships I built with my teammates, with my fellow coaches as a coach, but also with my coaches as a player.

“It was a great trip and I wouldn't be here without everything that happened in Oklahoma.”

Venables arrived in Oklahoma in December 2021, after former Sooners coach Lincoln Riley (who replaced Heupel as offensive coordinator in 2014) traveled to USC just one day after the regular season ended. Riley brought Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams and several other prolific players with him.

Heupel, who coached at UCF for three years, inherited a shattered Tennessee team in 2021 coming off its worst season in program history and in the midst of an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations under the previous regime — one that resulted in punitive measures that still impact Tennessee’s ability to field a full scholarship roster.

And yet, both persist. Oklahoma is coming off a 10-win season, while Tennessee has won 11 games in 2022 and might currently have its best roster since Phillip Fulmer roamed the field.

A full circle moment

Now, a wave of conference realignment has swept through Oklahoma and brought Venables and Heupel closer than they've been in a long time, even if they're on opposite sides of the fence.

Saturday will be a tremendous test for both teams. Oklahoma certainly wants to make a strong impression in its first conference game as an SEC program, and a tough schedule means the Sooners need to set the tone for how they progress over the next few months. Tennessee has a legitimate team College football There is playoff hope, but this is one of the few games that could make or break the Vols' season.

The result will have repercussions far beyond the stands at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. However, for three hours before the final whistle, all eyes will be on two rival coaches who have forged a bond through their shared experience in Oklahoma.

“It's going to be a unique experience to get back into that stadium,” Heupel said Monday. “I'm not sure I've ever spent a day on the opposing team's sideline inside that stadium, even for a scrimmage, so it's going to be different, but it's something I'm looking forward to.”