It’s been four years since Oklahoma entered a season with questions about its kicker. Garrett Hartley took the reins late his freshman season in 2004. His booming and accurate leg were a constant in following seasons.
Finding a suitable replacement is the Sooners’ biggest special teams goals entering this season. And it appears to be the only one.
The race to replace him came down to a three-way battle between redshirt freshmen Jimmy Stevens, Tress Way and Matthew Moreland. Stevens and Moreland battled throughout the spring and Way, a true freshman, entered the fray in August.
Stevens has displayed the more accurate leg and has emerged as the leader in place-kicking duty. Moreland, who is 6-foot-2 and 206 pounds, has shown power and could handle the kickoff duties.
“Hopefully we will see the consistency that we are used to having out of Garrett Hartley,” OU coach Bob Stoops said.
The Sooners are hoping two is as good as one. If it works out that way, OU’s special teams could once again be quite special.
OU will break in a new holder in wide receiver Carter Whitson. But deep snapper Derek Shaw, who has nursed an injured Achilles tendon during the preseason, is back.
Punter Mike Knall shared the duties with Michael Cohen the last two seasons, but he’s got them by himself for his senior season. Cohen is coming off a solid campaign. He averaged 43.7 yards per boot, with six of his 24 attempts landing inside the 20. Six more went beyond 50 yards.
But the excitement comes from the return game.
DeMarco Murray, who averaged 29.3 yards per kick return and took two back for touchdowns, is back and healthy. The sophomore has the ability to be one of the most electrifying returners in college football.
“It’s fun to watch him,” Stoops said.
But Murray figures to be a bigger part of the offense this season and that could limit his special teams opportunities.
“I just want to do better than I did last year,” Murray said. “Anything other than that will be a failure.”
Wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias will also return kicks. He averaged 28.5 per return last season and is another slippery open-field runner. He’ll likely bear the brunt of opportunities with most teams kicking away from Murray.
The punt returning chores will go through a shift. Reggie Smith handled them the past two seasons and another cornerback has taken his place.
Dominique Franks took advantage of his chances last season, averaging 10.3 yards per punt return. The sophomore has Smith’s speed, but is a little shiftier.
He’s still settling into the position.
“Right now I am just working on my game, catching more balls, catching more punts and working on that skill,” Franks said. “Last year I shared time with Reggie, and the more I caught the ball the more comfortable I felt. So hopefully I will get more balls this season.”
The Sooners hope he does. They didn’t have a punt return for a touchdown last season. That’s something they’d like to change.
The personnel is in place for a big season from OU’s special teams. If the kicking works out, everything is there for game-changing plays each Saturday.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.comf
OU Sports
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