Alabama's Kalen DeBoer and Tennessee's Josh Heupel will face off this season. They're both a ways away from their home of South Dakota.
“I’m not sure anybody pictured two South Dakotans being in the SEC a few years ago,” Heupel said Tuesday at SEC Media Days in Dallas. “Kalen is somebody I’ve known for a long time. I was a little bit younger. I watched him as an athlete. Then through our coaching paths have crossed and stayed in contact at different times. Excited to have him in the league. Great person, great coach. We’ll be ready for Saturday in October.
After their time playing high school football in South Dakota at their respective schools, DeBoer and Heupel took different paths. Heupel left the state for college with several stops, landing later at Oklahoma where he won a national championship. After a brief stint in the NFL, Heupel began his coaching career that included stops everywhere from Oklahoma to Utah State and Missouri. He’s since been a head coach for Central Florida and now Tennessee.
DeBoer stayed in South Dakota for a while, playing college football for Sioux Falls. He also won a national championship as a player, albeit at an NAIA school. He got his start coaching high school football, then he returned to Sioux Falls as offensive coordinator and later became head coach where he won more national championships. Next, he made stops as an assistant at Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State and Indiana.
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