Former Sooners HC Bob Stoops gets real on Josh Heupel's success at Tennessee and his return to Oklahoma in 2024

One of the biggest college football games of the 2024 season will take place on September 21 when the Tennessee Vols travel to Norman to take on the Oklahoma Sooners.

The matchup against Tennessee will serve as Oklahoma's first official SEC conference game (the Sooners became official members of the SEC on July 1).

It will also be the first time that Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has returned to Oklahoma since getting let go by Bob Stoops after the 2014 season.

Heupel, a former quarterback who led the Sooners to a national championship as a player in 2000, served as an assistant at Oklahoma from 2006 to 2014. He was the co-offensive coordinator for the Sooners from 2011 to 2014. Heupel wasn't retained by Stoops after the 2014 season despite Oklahoma averaging 36.4 points per game (No. 21 in the nation).

Heupel doesn't often speak publicly about Stoops or Oklahoma, which has led to speculation that the relationship with his alma mater (or at least with Stoops) is icy (Heupel, however, said last summer that his relationship with Oklahoma isn't complicated).

The perceived tension between Heupel and Stoops (who will likely be in attendance for the game against Tennessee) is expected to add some spice to the game between the Sooners and the Vols in 2024.

Earlier this month, Stoops spoke on his YouTube channel about Heupel's success at Tennessee and his return to Norman this upcoming season.

“I’m happy for them (Heupel and his staff), they’ve done a great job at Tennessee,” said Stoops. “Josh has done well everywhere he’s been. When you look at Central Florida and here now at Tennessee. And the staff that’s with him — (offensive coordinator) Joey Halzle [was] also a quarterback here (at Oklahoma) and a graduate assistant. So they’ve done a really good job. Obviously, it’ll be neat with the first SEC game (for OU). And I’m sure our fans — they should and I’m sure they will give Josh a huge welcome. Meaning a round of ovation, he deserves that.”

This isn't the first time that Stoops has commented on Heupel and his return to Oklahoma. Last December, Stoops mentioned that he thinks Heupel deserves to be honored by Sooners fans this fall.

"Everyone thought when Josh took that job -- you know all the sanctions, all the penalties and the turmoil they were in from recruiting violations -- didn't realize he could get it going that fast," said Stoops . "I anticipated, just for those reasons, that it was going to take a little bit. But he's overcome them quickly. What will matter, I think a little bit, is who graduates, who are the seniors leaving, who's back. But Josh and his staff have done a great job... I know he'll have an incredible reception here at OU when he enters the field and he should. That'll be exciting."

It'll certainly be interesting to see if there's any pre-game interactions between Heupel and Stoops when Tennessee visits Norman in September.

Related: Peyton Manning, Rick Barnes, Josh Heupel, and Morgan Wallen watching final out of College World Series is a must-watch for Vols fans