SEC head coach makes big statement about impact Tennessee’s Josh Heupel had on his coaching career
The Tennessee Vols’ matchup against the Oklahoma Sooners in September isn’t the only game in 2024 where there will be some familiar faces across the field from UT head coach Josh Heupel.
Heupel, who coached or played with several coaches on the Sooners’ staff, will also go head-to-head against a familiar face in November when the Vols take on Jeff Lebby and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Lebby was a student assistant at Oklahoma in the early to mid 2000s when Heupel was a graduate assistant and quarterbacks coach with the Sooners. He was chosen Mississippi State’s new head coach soon after the 2023 season.
Lebby additionally assisted Heupel as the UCF quarterbacks coach in 2018. Before departing to take up the same position on Lane Kiffin’s staff at Ole Miss before of the 2020 campaign, he was elevated to offensive coordinator in 2019.
When Lebby joined Pete Thamel and Rece Davis on the ESPN College GameDay Podcast earlier this week, he was questioned regarding the beginnings of his offensive strategy.
Working under Art Briles at Baylor from 2008 to 2016, Lebby said his Waco experience shaped his mindset.
Thamel asked Lebby, who was an offensive lineman before an injury prematurely ended his football career, how he made the switch from coaching the offensive line to coaching quarterbacks.
Lebby noted that Briles (who is also Lebby’s father-in-law) told him at one point to not limit himself to only coaching the offensive line, which is advice he heeded.
It was at UCF, under Heupel, where Lebby received his first chance to coach quarterbacks on a daily basis.
“Josh Heupel was the one, at UCF, that gave me the opportunity to coach the [quarterbacks] every single day,” said Lebby. “And he’s the one that created so much confidence for me in being able to help a guy, to be able to fix a guy, to coach the fundamentals of the position. Not just how to get to his decision making and where to go with the football and situationally understanding things, because that’s one thing. But the fundamental side of it, that is who created so much confidence for me in coaching the position every single day. And the year round calendar and the developmental pieces of it that have put me sitting here today. So that’s where it all happened.”
Lebby has already discussed the influence Heupel had on his career, particularly in relation to coaching quarterbacks. After accepting the Mississippi State position, Lebby joined Paul Finebaum on the SEC Network last year. He described Heupel as a “dear friend” who aided in his development as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
In terms of offensive philosophy, Heupel and Lebby most likely borrowed equally from one another (Heupel’s approach is based on the Art Briles system, where Lebby spent a significant portion of his early career). But it’s obvious that Heupel has had a major influence on Lebby’s development as a quarterback coach.
