Hester said he’d enjoy catching up with some old friends after the game, but he’s trying to approach this week like any other.

“I know I’m going back home to where I started,” he said. “I’ve been getting a lot of questions about it and stuff, but I’m going to treat it like any other game. Trying to do something different is how you mess up the routine and things like that.”

This week, Hester will try to build momentum from OU’s 59-14 win over Maine.

He had a nice introduction, including working with quarterback Jackson Arnold on a scramble drill for a 90-yard touchdown catch.

That big game, as well as success throughout the offense against the Black Bears, will give the offense confidence on the road against the Tigers.

“We came out and executed what we wanted to execute,” Hester said. “It was really good, especially when we came up with our troubles and stuff. We just wanted to get the offense moving and that’s what we did. We’re just going to use that to keep us going.”

Hester won’t be the only player Saturday with strong ties to both programs.

Star wide receiver from Missouri Luther Burden was originally a commit from Oklahoma, and the Sooners were in a public recruiting battle for the Tigers’ defensive lineman. Williams Nwaneri.

A pair of Missouri’s offensive plays actually made it to Norman’s campus at receiver Theo Wease and offensive lineman Cayden Greenfurther the mix between the two changing rooms.

“We haven’t talked about it much,” the OU linebacker said Dasan McCullough said about reconnecting with old teammates. “… But we’re going to treat it like any other week. We’re excited to go out there and play.”

Brent Venables said confrontation, between the battles on the recruiting trail and the actual contests inside the white lines, it doesn’t feel “spicy” for him, but it will still be strange for a guy like Hester returning to the stadium he once called home.

“(It’s not weird) now that I think about it,” Hester said. “But when you get there, it probably will be. There’s definitely going to be some nostalgia, for sure, going back to where I started.”