Tennessee Vols HC Josh Heupel gives his version of one of the best Mike Leach stories you'll ever hear

Several years ago, ESPN detailed the story of the late Mike Leach, then the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, dropping a fake play script on the field before the Sooners played the Texas Longhorns in 1999.

Leach came up with the idea to plant the fake play script on the field just a few days before Oklahoma's game against Texas. The Sooners ended up losing the game, but not before the fake play script led to a few early scoring opportunities for Oklahoma (including a 44-yard touchdown from quarterback Josh Heupel, now the head coach of the Tennessee Vols, to wide receiver Antwone Savage).

At SEC Media Days in Dallas this past week, Heupel joined 104.5 The Zone's 3HL and he was asked about the Leach fake play script story.

"I believe it was either a Wednesday night or a Thursday night, I'd go up to his office," explained Heupel. "You guys remember the old Howard Stern E! TV show? He would be playing that in his office, so that's the background noise. Anyway, at the end of the night, he's like, 'What do you think about placing a fake script?' I was like, 'What are you talking about?' But he pulled it off.

"It was fun to watch when we got to the stadium because I knew what was going on. You could see everything unfold. It was a classic moment of the pirate."

Heupel said that only a "handful" of people knew about the ploy, including one of his best friends who was in charge of dropping the script.

Josh Heupel details what it was like to be recruited by Mike Leach

The story about the fake play script wasn't the only Mike Leach story that Heupel shared during his time with 104.5 The Zone.

Heupel, who played at Weber State and Snow College before transferring to Oklahoma in 1999, also detailed what it was like to be recruited by Leach 25 years ago.

"The conversations are about what you would expect," said Heupel with a laugh. "My wife always knew when I was talking to Mike because the phone would be on my ear for a while, then I'd put it on speaker and start walking around the house doing stuff. He didn't need anybody else on the other end to hold the conversation. Straight comedy, too. A guy that gave me my start. Pretty cool just picking a kid out of Ephraim, Utah (Snow College)."

Leach only coached Heupel for one season (Leach took over as the head coach at Texas Tech after the 1999 season), but it's clear that he made a lifelong impact on the Tennessee head coach.

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