Josh Heupel just bought a piece of the college football national championship. He has hired Indiana’s strength and conditioning coach, Derek Owings.
In less than 12 hours after the Hoosiers’ victory in Miami, Owings was at work in Tennessee’s Anderson Training Center. Two Indiana assistants, Josh Huff and Carl Miller, are supposedly with him. Owings will soon bring in a nutritionist.
Heupel and Owings actually shook hands on the working agreement several days ago. Heupel offered $1.2 million in salary, a world record for the position, and a budget to assemble whatever Owings considers necessary.
Nobody said “head start” but that’s what it was.
“Tennessee is one of the most iconic brands in college football,” Owings said in a UT release. “I’m thankful to Coach Heupel for believing in me, and I can’t wait to serve this program, this staff and most importantly, these players on Rocky Top.”
Owings was the foundation of what coach Curt Cignetti has accomplished in just two seasons at Indiana. Cignetti has talked about the responsibility he gave Owings to prepare the team and the confidence he had in him.
“I think he’s on the cutting edge. He gets great results. I have 100% confidence in him. I don’t mess with him. That’s his area. I let him go.”
Owings was on Cignetti’s staff for four previous seasons at James Madison University. In their six years together, the Dukes and Hoosiers won 64 games.
Before that, Owings worked at Utah State and Central Florida. Here’s the connection: Derek was assistant strength coach for Heupel in 2018. Call that roots.
“Physical and mental toughness is paramount in everything we do year-round as a program,” said Heupel.
“No one understands this better at a championship level than Derek. He will elevate our strength and conditioning program with a relentless mindset and forge strong relationships with our players. He has a proven track record of utilizing modern training methods to maximize speed and strength, while specializing in injury prevention.
“He also understands what it takes to build an elite nutrition program to ensure our players are set up for on-field success and durability.”
Owings met the Volunteers today. Workouts begin tomorrow.
