A quarter-century ago, Josh Heupel was one of the centerpieces of Oklahoma’s football rebirth.

On Saturday, Heupel will be a piece of another significant milestone when his sixth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers take on the No. 15 Sooners in Norman, Okla.

Oklahoma will be playing its first league contest since joining the Southeastern Conference.

“It will be unique going back into that stadium,” Heupel said. “I have teammates and friends back there. It’s going to be a (different) viewpoint. I am not sure I spent a day on the opposing sideline inside the stadium — not even for a scrimmage.”

Heupel signed with the Sooners out of Snow College in Utah, not long after Bob Stoops’ arrival as Oklahoma’s head coach before the 1999 season.

The Sooners made their first bowl game in five seasons during Heupel’s first season. During his second, Oklahoma went undefeated and won the program’s seventh national championship. Heupel also finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting that season.

Brent Venables, now in his third season as the Sooners’ head coach, was Oklahoma’s co-defensive coordinator during Heupel’s time as a player.

Heupel was also a longtime assistant at Oklahoma under Stoops but was fired following the 2014 season. After stints at Utah State and Missouri, Heupel got his first head-coaching job at UCF, and he is in his fourth season as the Volunteers’ head coach.

Venables expects a strong reception for Heupel in Norman.

“There can’t be someone with a stronger legacy,” Venables said. “The first year, going 7-5, then out of nowhere to go 13-0 and several games within that year, Oklahoma was an underdog or had to come from behind in those games where you really felt Sooner Magic was reignited. And he was a catalyst of that. And people won’t forget that.”

The game is about much more than Heupel’s return or the Sooners’ introduction into the SEC.

Tennessee (3-0) comes in with one of the most powerful offenses in college football, having outscored its opponents 191-13.

Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava and Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold were two of the top quarterbacks to come out of the 2023 class.

Iamaleava has completed 71.6 percent of his passes this season, and a strong run game in addition to that has helped the Volunteers average 693.3 yards per game.

“Man, what a talent,” Venables said of Iamaleava. “He’s just been fantastic. He’s got a great presence to him, he’s got a great supporting cast and a great defense.”

Saturday will be Iamaleava’s first true road game as the starter.

Oklahoma’s strength so far has been its defense.

The Sooners (3-0) are holding opponents to less than 265 yards per game and have forced 10 turnovers so far, tied for the nation’s best.

“They play really assignment sound,” Heupel said. “They understand where they’re supposed to be and recognizing patterns and getting into windows. They tie all three phases, all three levels of the defense in extremely well. And then when you have the ball in their hands, they’re extremely active.”