An All-American quarterback during his playing days at Oklahoma, new Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has taught a lot of successful signal-callers during his career.
From 2006-2017, Heupel coached quarterbacks either as a primary job or in conjunction with a role as an offensive coordinator.
Here’s a look at some of the best players Heupel had the opportunity to coach at QB:
Jason White, Oklahoma
-The eventual heir to Heupel’s spot at quarterback, White was a backup during Heupel’s first season and redshirted during Heupel’s second season as QB at Oklahoma, getting a chance to watch the future coach lead the Sooners to its most recent national title. ACL injuries slowed down his career path, but White rebounded to win the Heisman in 2003, the Davey O’Brien Award twice, as well as being named a unanimous All-American in 2003. While he didn’t repeat as a Heisman winner, White was a finalist in 2004. White tried to go pro but was not selected in the 2005 NFL Draft.
Career Stats – 7,922 yards, 63.3 completion percentage, 81 touchdowns, 24 interceptions
Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
-Bradford was the first superstar quarterback Heupel coached directly while on the Oklahoma staff. The No. 1 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, Bradford won the Heisman trophy in 2008. Bradford, only a three-star prospect per the 247Sports composite, redshirted his freshman year before earning the starting job in 2007. In his first game, Bradford broke Heupel’s school record for most passing yards in a half. Bradford and the Sooners got to the BCS National Championship game at the end of the season but lost to Florida, 24-14. In his junior season, Bradford dealt with injuries, playing in only three games.
Career Stats – 8,403 yards, 67.6 completion percentage, 88 touchdowns, 16 interceptions
Landry Jones, Oklahoma
-Jones got his career with the Sooners started much earlier than expected. After redshirting in 2008, Jones was forced into a starting position after injuries hampered Bradford for much of 2009. Jones helped guide Oklahoma to its first BCS bowl win since 2002, taking care of Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl at the end of the 2010 season. In Jones’ three full years as a starter, Oklahoma went 32-8. Heupel transitioned from just quarterbacks coach to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in the final two years of Jones’ career at Oklahoma. Jones was picked in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Career Stats – 16,646 passing yards, 63.6 completion percentage, 123 touchdowns, 52 interceptions
Drew Lock, Missouri
-Heupel got a chance to coach one of the more talented SEC quarterbacks in recent years with Missouri’s Drew Lock for two seasons. In 2016, Lock completed 54.6 percent of his passes for 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In the second season with Heupel, Lock’s number took a huge jump: he completed 3.2% more of his passes, throwing 21 more passing touchdowns, 44 total. Lock was picked in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos.
Career Stats - 12,193 passing yards, 56.9 completion percentage, 99 touchdowns, 39 interceptions
McKenzie Milton, Central Florida
-During Scott Frost’s final year with UCF, quarterback McKenzie Milton thrived for the undefeated Knights squad, finishing eighth in Heisman voting. Heupel technically did not coach quarterbacks in 2018, which was done by current Ole Miss offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, but Milton’s numbers took a step down in 2018, even though the offense was just as successful. Milton went from completing 67.1% of his passes to 59.2%. He threw about 1,400 fewer yards and 12 fewer touchdowns as well. He scored more touchdowns in the running game (nine compared to eight). A direct comparison is difficult to make however after Milton suffered a gruesome leg injury against South Florida in the final regular-season game of 2018. Milton was unable to play for the entire 2019 and 2020 seasons. In Dec. 2020, Milton announced he would be transferring to Florida State.
Current Career Stats – 8,683 passing yards, 61.8 completion percentage, 72 touchdowns, 22 interceptions, 1,077 rushing yards, 20 rushing touchdowns