Brent Venables wasn't sold on Josh Heupel as a recruit at Oklahoma

Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel has a long story with Oklahoma football. He started as a player and then a coach, working his way to offensive coordinator before being fired. Before he had the opportunity to take the Sooners to the 2000 National Championship, he had to sell the coaches in his recruiting process. 

Brent Venables was the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma when Heupel visited Norman before committing to the Sooners, and the DC wasn't a big fan of Heupel. Before he grew into the quarterback, he's now known as Venables, thought Heupel was frail and pasty. 

"We didn't know anything about Josh, but he was outside of the office window," said Venables on Tuesday when asked about Heupel's visit to Oklahoma. "I'm saying this with incredible appreciation and respect for Josh, couldn't have been more wrong. Don't judge a book by its cover. 

"He was skinny and just frail. And the ball was coming off -- he was a southpaw, probably hadn't played in a couple of months -- and the ball was wobbly. And we're like, 'That ain't it'." 

Heupel had a great reaction to Venables' quote, who thankfully didn't make the final decision to offer Heupel. Mike Leach was actually the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma during Heupel's recruiting process. 

"I probably was a little pasty," said Heupel in response to Venables. "But when we got there, I certainly had to continue to grow as a player. I might have always had a little wobble on my ball, but the staff there, Mike (Leach) and obviously the strength staff there, did a great job of helping me transform." 

Heupel and Venables have been at the forefront of headlines throughout the week leading up to the Vols-Sooners' ranked matchup. The two head coaches have a long history and love for the University of Oklahoma, but Heupel's history with OU is a little different than Venables', which is what makes Heupel's return to Norman so interesting. 

The Vols' head coach was fired as the offensive coordinator in 2014 but doesn't hold any grudges a decade later. "There's so many people that have been a huge part of my journey," Heupel said earlier this week, "I wouldn't be here today at Tennessee if I didn't have all those experiences. [I am] so tremendously grateful for all those people."

"God, you know, His way's the right way even though we don't understand it," Venables said Tuesday when discussing Heupel's firing. "And we make a hard right-hand turn. And He's got something better for you. That's exactly what happened for Josh and his family."

It seems like the two head coaches have a great relationship now, so many years after both coaches worked at Oklahoma as assistant coaches. Venables returned to Norman as the head coach in 2022, while Heupel makes his return this Saturday on the opposing sideline. The Vols and Sooners kick off at 7:30 PM ET on ABC.