A Championship Vision: Meet #Mizzou's Josh Heupel
1/22/2016 9:04:00 AM | Football
Part two in an exclusive MUTigers.com series introducing Mizzou Football's coaching staff
A Championship Vision. That is the mindset that Mizzou Football head coach Barry Odom took into his first month on the job as he built an impressive coaching staff that boasts years of high-level college and pro experience and an abundance of success both as coaches and as players. Leading into National Signing Day on February 3, MUTigers.com will be introducing all of Mizzou's coaches in what was the first exclusive interviews for each coach since Coach Odom established the staff.
Today we intorduce you to Mizzou offensibe coordinator Josh Heupel. Be sure to listen to an exclusive interview below and watch Mizzou Network's Ben Arnet go one-on-one with Coach Heupel in an in-depth one-on-one that examines Heupel's success as a national championship quarterback to what led him to his current position at Mizzou.
Josh Heupel: A Championship Vision for a Championship Competitor
When Mizzou Football head coach Barry Odom was putting together his coaching staff, he had a vision in mind, a vision of winning championships. So when looking for Mizzou's newest offensive coordinator, he identified a coach who had a track record of winning championships – Josh Heupel. Heupel won a BCS Championship as the starting quarterback for Oklahoma in 2000 and has since become one of the most sought-after minds in college football. With a championship vision of his own, his connection with Coach Odom was instant.
"I just truly believe in Barry and who he is as a person and his vision for the program," Heupel said. "I've known him as a competitor for a long time on the football field while we were both playing collegiately and competing against him - we've recruited the same area in Texas for a long time. He's organized, he's detailed, he's very professional. He's relentless and he works extremely hard. You add all those attributes up, and the success he's had on the defensive side of the ball recently as a defensive coordinator, you just know he can maximize what we have here and we'll do a great job of recruiting great players here. I just think it's a great time to be here and be a part of Missouri Football."
When football fans hear Heupel's name, the immediate association to Oklahoma's 2000 National Championship team is made. The signal caller for an Oklahoma team that finished 13-0 with wins over six ranked opponents (five top-15 and four top-10), Heupel was named AP National Player of the Year and was the winner of the Walter Camp Award in 2000. He earned his place in college football and Oklahoma lore by hanging 63 points on archrival Texas, beginning a streak of three consecutive wins over ranked teams, including No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Kansas State. In those three games, Heupel led a Sooner offense that averaged 45 points per contest while taking over the No. 1 ranking for the rest of the season.
Heupel raised his game when the lights shined the brightest in 2000 and that culminated with a 13-2 win over Florida State in the Orange Bowl, securing the BCS title. For many who have won a national championship, that becomes their legacy, but for Heupel as a competitor, he has continued to build a legacy with his career in coaching. Beginning as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma, Heupel has mentored a pair of Heisman Trophy winners and has established himself as one of the nation's top offensive minds. With his accolades as a player, there are few coaches in the nation more qualified to coach and teach young men.
"I think coaches have to be great teachers," Heupel said. "Kids want to know and do know whether or not you are making them better, and to be a great teacher you have to be a great communicator. I think those are attributes that are extremely important when I relate to our players."
For Heupel, relating to his players come naturally. It is easier for a coach to get through to his players knowing that he competed and won at the highest levels, and Heupel's playing and coaching record speaks for itself in that regard. But as a coach, Heupel's primary focus is letting his players know that he cares about them.
"Players need to know that you care about them more than just as a football player," Heupel said. "You're trying to grow them from an 18-year-old boy into a 22-year-old man and give them traits and attributes that can allow them to be successful for the rest of their life. If they buy into those things, they'll do anything that you want them to be successful each and every Saturday."
While Heupel's primary focus is caring for his players on a personal level, his end-game is winning football games and taking Mizzou to new heights. A self-described 'relentless competitor,' Heupel prides himself on being the same guy every day when he is with the players. He remains demanding and caring at the same time, and places an emphasis on getting the most out of every single player on the roster.
"At the end of the day as an offensive coordinator, you've got to find a way to put them in a position to be successful and find the guys who are going to play at a championship level and find a role for those players here on the offensive side of the ball," Heupel said.
When talking about the offensive side of the ball, fans immediately think of the quarterback position. A championship-caliber quarterback himself, Heupel has mentored two Heisman winners (Sam Bradford and Jason White) and has established and incredible track record of churning out quality quarterbacks, something he looks to continue during his time at Mizzou. His vision is to have Mizzou's quarterbacks to embody a similar identity to him from his playing days.
"Competitive. Passionate about the game, passionate about his teammates. Extremely smart," Heupel said when asked about what makes a great quarterback. "A guy that has great command of what we're doing offensively and when he's seeing different looks from the defensive side of the ball. Those are some important traits that at the end of the day, we've got to have out of our quarterback for us to be a championship-caliber football team."
A common theme that becomes evident in almost any conversation with Heupel is his competitive spirit. To anyone who knows him, the traits he looks for in recruits come as no surprise.
"Physically and mentally tough, extremely competitive, a competitive spirit in no matter what they're doing," Heupel said. "They're competing in the classroom, they're competing on the basketball floor, they compete when you bring them on an official visit and you're playing a game of hoops or whatever it might be. Kids that love to compete is one of the more important traits that a recruit will have, because that can drive them every minute of every day even when you don't physically have your hands on them in the meeting room or on the practice field."
Heupel's competitiveness has driven him to victories in every area of life. With a trophy case full of awards, a national championship and the word Heisman connected to his name, it is easy to see why Coach Odom identified Heupel as his top option as offensive coordinator. But how does an ultimate competitor like Heupel measure success as a coach?
"Within the scope of the four years that players are here, seeing a kid truly develop academically, socially and in the football realm, seeing him make the strides that are important for him to be successful in life. And then finding a way to win football games on Saturday afternoon and seeing a kid that's worked extremely hard to be successful and seeing that come to fruition on a Saturday afternoon is extremely rewarding."
