Oklahoma Sooners legend Bob Stoops has the biggest compliment he can give to Tennessee HC Josh Heupel

The Oklahoma Sooners are set to play the Tennessee Volunteers in their first SEC game, where they will see Josh Heupel, a very familiar face. Heupel played for Oklahoma from 1996 to 2000.

In 1999, Heupel had a standout year as the starting quarterback for the Sooners. He led Oklahoma to an undefeated regular season and a National Championship for Oklahoma.

He was an offensive coordinator for the Sooners, where he was eventually let go by Bob Stoops , who at the time claimed that Heupel was not the scapegoat of their issues on that side of the ball. While all that seems bad, Heupel is still a guy who should get pretty wild applause on Saturday.

The Sooners still love him, and so does Bob Stoops.

“All attention needs to be on those two coaches and their programs,” Stoops posted on social media. “I have great respect for both coaches. I’m grateful for their great work here at OU; Brent was a coach here for 13 years, including our national championship in 2000.

"Josh, as our 2000 national championship QB and coach for 10 years. I’ve often said he is the MVP of all my recruits because he was the catalyst that got us started in ’99.”

The Sooners will welcome Heupel before the game, and I'm sure they will celebrate the history that is there, but once that whistle blows to start the game, it's all business, and nothing the two sides did before together matters anymore.

Heupel knows what to expect , though, and he won't be surprised. That fan base will let him hear it, both good and bad.

Related: Bob Stoops comments on Josh Heupel's return to Oklahoma when Vols take on Sooners in 2024