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Sources: Odom finds his OC

Missouri head coach Barry Odom will hire Josh Heupel to be his offensive coordinator at Missouri, multiple sources have told PowerMizzou.com.

Missouri confirmed the hire shortly before 3 p.m. on Thursday afternoon with a press release.

“I’m really pleased to have someone the caliber of Josh Heupel join our staff,” Odom said in the release. “I’ve known him for a long time and have always respected him highly, as a player, a coach, a recruiter and a coordinator. I’ve been impressed by the offenses that he runs, they’re very difficult to defend, and his achievements speak for themselves. He’s a high-character person who has the type of leadership abilities that will be outstanding for our program, and he’s exactly what we’re looking for. We’re excited to have him on board.”

Heupel spent the 2015 season as the offensive coordinator at Utah State
Heupel spent the 2015 season as the offensive coordinator at Utah State (Mizzou Athletics)
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Heupel comes to Missouri after one year at Utah State, where he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, as well as an assistant head coach under Matt Wells. Prior to his stint in Logan, Heupel spent eight years as an assistant coach at Oklahoma under Bob Stoops. He began as the quarterbacks coach in 2006, but during his last four years, he was also co-offensive coordinator for the Sooners.

He was fired by Stoops following the 2014 season. In his four years as co-offensive coordinator — along with Jay Norvell — Heupel’s offenses ranked 10th, 15th, 40th and 21st nationally in scoring.

At Utah State, Heupel’s offense dealt with a long-term injury to starting quarterback Chuckie Keeton, and ranked 60th in scoring (30.3 PPG), 70th in rushing (167.92 YPG), 88th in passing (202.9) and 92nd in total yardage (370.8).

“I am very grateful to Coach Odom for this opportunity,” Heupel said in the release. “First and foremost I believe in the person Barry Odom is and what he stands for. I believe in the vision that he has for this program. I have a lot of respect for Mizzou and the football program, as someone who’s seen it from an outsider’s perspective for a long time. I believe this is a special place that has just scratched the surface of what it can be, and it’s a program that is capable of winning championships on a consistent basis. I want to be part of that. I think it’s a great time to be at Mizzou, and I’m excited to get there and to go to work."

Heupel was the runner-up for the 2000 Heisman Trophy, when he took Oklahoma to a national championship.
Heupel was the runner-up for the 2000 Heisman Trophy, when he took Oklahoma to a national championship. (fishduck.com)

In his nine seasons coaching quarterbacks at Oklahoma, Heupel helped develop Sam Bradford and Landry Jones, among others. Heupel is a former Sooner quarterback himself in 1999 and 2000. In 2000, he was the Heisman Trophy runner-up, and led the Sooners to a national title.

At this point, Heupel joins Andy Hill, Cornell Ford and Ryan Walters on Odom’s staff. Sources have told PowerMizzou.com that Hill will return to coaching receivers at Missouri and Ford will move from coaching cornerbacks to running backs. Walters was the safeties coach last year, but his exact role at Mizzou going forward is not known at this time.

Heupel's hiring will leave Missouri with five more full-time assistant vacancies. More hires are expected to be announced soon, possibly as early as Thursday.

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