Breaking: Coach Josh Heupel made a shocking announcement that made fans and vols thinking otherwise.

Heupel is well-known in Norman and finds himself in a peculiar predicament. As the head coach of the Sooners in their first SEC game, he will now be on the other side of the field from where he stood on the platform on Tuesday in Tennessee orange.

Josh Huepel has work on his hands.

Heupel previewed his fourth season with the Vols and discussed a few important topics during his yearly presentation at SEC Media Days in Dallas on Tuesday. He talked about the players on his team, how last season wasn’t typical, and how excited he is about Nico Lamaleava, his new starting quarterback.

Heupel’s eagerly awaited return to Norman, however, was the subject that generated the most questions during SEC Media Days, which attracted a plethora of Oklahoma media as the Sooners prepared to begin their first season in the conference.

Heupel is well-known in Norman and finds himself in a peculiar predicament. He won the 2000 football National Championship as the Sooners’ quarterback. For a brief period, he even assisted in Sooners coaching. As the head coach of the Sooners in their first SEC game, he will now be on the other side of the field from where he stood on the platform on Tuesday in Tennessee orange.

“It’ll be unique for myself to be on the other sideline,” Heupel stated. “I was on the home sideline on a number of Saturdays, obviously. However, a ton of amazing friends and teammates will be present. received a lot of respect for the program and the university.

“There will be a number of friends coaching on the opposing bench that day, in addition to former teammates. Being back there will be different, but I’m delighted to be there.”

The year Heupel guided the Sooners to the crystal ball, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables served as the co-defensive coordinator for the Sooners National Championship squad.

Josh is someone for whom I have a great deal of respect, Venables stated, “especially as a player. I’ve always thought back on my first National Championship as a coach and said, “Man, we couldn’t have done it without Heupel.” His bravery and fortitude during the 2000 season, as well as his leadership and ability to reshape our locker room, are all noteworthy. From a player’s perspective, I have so always held him up here on this pedestal.”

One of the numerous tales that Venables and crew will have to deal with that Saturday is Heupel coming back to Norman for the Sooners’ first SEC game. He will be standing on the other sideline of a location where he both played and coached, so it will be an unusual circumstance. But he has work to do at the end of the day.

“Got family that still lives back there, a lot of friends, teammates, coaches that stay in contact that coached me while I was there, and obviously administration, too,” he stated. “So it’ll be a unique Saturday.”