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, who was named Mississippi State’s new head coach shortly after the 2023 season, was a student assistant at Oklahoma in the early to mid 2000s when Heupel was a graduate assistant/quarterbacks coach with the Sooners.
Additionally, Lebby served as Heupel’s quarterbacks coach at UCF in 2018. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019 before leaving to take the same role on Lane Kiffin’s staff at Ole Miss ahead of the 2020 season.
Earlier this week, Lebby joined the ESPN College GameDay Podcast with Rece Davis and Pete Thamel and he was asked about the origin of his offense. Lebby, who worked under Art Briles at Baylor from 2008 to 2016, noted that his philosophy was born from his time in Waco. 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. “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.”
This isn’t the first time that Lebby has mentioned the impact that Heupel had on his career — specifically when it comes to coaching quarterbacks. Lebby joined Paul Finebaum on the SEC Network last year after landing the Mississippi State job and he called Heupel a “dear friend” who helped his growth as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
Heupel and Lebby probably took an equal amount from each other when it comes to offensive philosophy (Heupel’s system has its roots in the Art Briles system…which is where Lebby spent a large chunk of the early part of his career). But when it comes to coaching quarterbacks, it’s clear that Heupel is largely responsible for Lebby’s growth in that area.