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LOGAN — First-year Utah State offensive coordinator Josh Heupel could be named the offensive coordinator under new Missouri head coach Barry Odom, and according to one report, he may have the inside track.
Online news outlet Scout.com first reported that Heupel, 37, will be named the offensive coordinator at the SEC institution. A source confirmed to KSL that Heupel is, indeed, a candidate for the position — but nothing is official as of Tuesday night.
Heupel was in his first year as offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach at Utah State following a decade-long career primarily at his alma mater Oklahoma.
He was the lead play caller and co-offensive coordinator for the Sooners for four years before coach Bob Stoops fired him following the 2014 season that saw Oklahoma finish in the top 20 in most offensive metrics. Heupel's replacement, Lincoln Riley, won the Broyles Award on Tuesday. The 32-year-old Sooner play caller became the youngest-ever recipient of the national award given to the nation's top assistant coach.
Heupel, who called plays in Norman, Oklahoma, since 2011, led the Aggies to a top-100 offensive efficiency rating at 38.7 and guided an offense that included two primary quarterbacks — with sophomore Kent Myers taking over for redshirt senior Chuckie Keeton four games into the season and completing 59 percent of his passes for 1,470 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Keeton returned to the helm of the offense after Myers suffered an injury in the penultimate game of the season against Nevada and finished with 892 yards passing, three touchdowns and six interceptions while becoming the Aggies' all-time leading scorer with 61 touchdowns in his five-year career.
As a player, Heupel was a candidate for the Heisman Trophy before mentoring several Heisman hopefuls of his own, including Oklahoma's Sam Bradford in 2008. He earned All-American honors at Snow College in 1998 when he threw for 2,308 yards and 28 touchdowns as a sophomore after spending two seasons (with a redshirt) at Weber State.
Odom became the 32nd head football coach at Missouri last Friday, replacing former coach Gary Pinkel, who stepped down following the season with health concerns that included a cancer diagnosis. The 39-year-old Odom spent 10 years as an administrator and coach at Missouri, including four seasons as defensive coordinator.
