Josh Heupel doesn’t exactly see Hendon Hooker when he looks in the mirror. However, there are some similarities glaring back at him.
“He’s a lot more athletic than I was back in the day,” Heupel said with a smile when queried about any similarities between the two. “I think how he’s grown in his preparation, what he does off the field and his ability to reset when he’s on the field.
“One play does not affect the next. I think those are a couple of things that I would hope remind me of myself.”
Heupel, like Hooker, was a standout quarterback in college. While Hooker is currently in his heyday at Tennessee, Heupel was a Heisman Trophy runner-up at Oklahoma in 2000.
The two have something else in common. They both had to transfer to become stars. Heupel transferred to Oklahoma from Weber State. Hooker transferred from Virginia Tech to Tennessee.
The two are locked hand-in-hand now at Tennessee as the Vols prepare for Saturday’s game against Florida. The hype around the game is as intense as ever. Both teams are ranked in the Top 20. The matchup is so big that ESPN’s College Gameday is in town. That doesn’t seem to bother Hooker.
“We are going to approach it the same way we approach every other game,” the senior said. “All the outside noise doesn’t really matter to us. We are going to come in, we are going to gameplan how we do in a normal week, and we’re going to come in and work hard.”
If the Vols are able to beat Florida, it will be, in large part, because they are ready to handle such a big stage. Heupel, who seemed very relaxed at his press conference on Monday, said he has a good feel for how his players will handle the national spotlight associated with this week’s game.
“I do,” Heupel said. “You’re going to hear the outside noise and the energy and excitement. Our kids should be excited about what the environment is going to be on Saturday. Your preparation leads yourself to being ready to play.
“Competitive composure will be big in this one. At times, we’ve done a really good job of that. Obviously, there were some things the other night that I did not like. It’s going to be important for us all – the 11 guys on the field and everybody on the sidelines too – to be able to compete and have the right frame of mind for 60 minutes.”
If not, Heupel and Hooker may both take a long look in the mirror.
