Josh Heupel wasn't afraid to say it.
Long before becoming the leader of Tennessee football, he owed his coaching career to a former Vols player.
Heupel was a quarterback fighting for an NFL roster spot after being selected in the sixth round of the NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins in 2001. He was released after the preseason and signed by the Green Bay Packers as a free agent in the 2002 offseason. Heupel was later cut a month before training camp due to ongoing issues with shoulder tendinitis in his throwing arm.