Josh Heupel has built Tennessee football into one of the most fun and exciting teams in the country, thanks to his up-tempo offense. His offensive philosophy has helped Tennessee win 27 games over the past three seasons, the most wins over the same time span since 2002-05, when Tennessee won 28 games.
That run by the Vols was only a couple of years after Heupel ended his playing days in college football with the Oklahoma Sooners. Heupel played for the Sooners in 1999 and 2000, totaling 6,852 passing yards and 50 passing touchdowns. He finished his career with a 63.2 completion percentage and 136.4 quarterback rating.
He also earned the 2000 AP Player of the Year Award, Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, 2000 Consensus All-America, 2000 Walter Camp Player of the Year, and was a finalist for the 2000 Heisman Trophy.
In short, he was a pretty good quarterback in his senior season. As a result, he will be on the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame ballot as a player, as announced by the National Football Foundation on Monday.
Heupel will be joined by three former Tennessee football players: Willie Gault, John Henderson, and Larry Seivers. Gault and Seivers have been on the ballot in the past, but Henderson is joining Heupel in making his first appearance on the ballot in 2025.
All four players were All-Americans and went on to have successful football careers. If everything works out, we could see three VFLs and Tennessee’s current head coach earn a spot in immortality as a Hall of Famer.
