Oklahoma football: Special teams has significant role in Sooners’ success

When we talk about Oklahoma football, the first thing that comes to mind in explosive offense. This season a strikingly improved defense has joined the discussion. But there is a third element that Brent Venables likes to think of as icing on the cake.

In his press conference this week, Venables made a point of singling out the Sooner special teams for the role it is playing in OU starting out the season 3-0.

Venables has been pleased with all the momentum plays and field position that is being created by special teams play.

“We’re creating a lot of field position and momentum through special teams,” he said. “Whether it’s pinning somebody deep and that creates momentum and an edge and a different mindset for the defense, or we’re punting out of our own end zone and (Michael) Turk smashes one for 57 and now we’re on the negative side of the field and now the defense has a different type of charge, or we’re forcing a three-and-out, creating good field position and not only that, but now we’re returning one for 30 yards, which charges up the sideline and gets the offense excited.”

Venables said he is loving seeing the strain in special teams. “We’re certainly not a finished product or without mistake there,” he said, “but there’s a tremendous amount of eagerness to be part of our special teams unit.”

The players are also creating more opportunities for themselves positionally because of their work on special teams.

Venables credits Jay Nunez, an Oklahoma native, who joined the OU support staff from Eastern Michigan, where he worked with special teams, for the Sooners’ success so far on special teams. “He’s incredibly smart, super organized and detailed, and does a great job of mapping out a really good plan” the OU head coach said.

Venables recalled that he made his start and created opportunities for himself as a special teams player at Kansas State. We were always aggressive going after punts and on punt returns, he said.
We are seeing that same aggressiveness in the Sooners’ punt returns as part of special teams this season.

Lincoln Riley’s approach to punt returns was much more conservative. Not so for Venables, who has experienced what can be achieved by being more aggressive but at the same time smart in how you go about returning punts.

Entering Saturday’s game against Kansas State, Oklahoma ranks No. 20 nationally in punt returns, averaging close to 16 yards per return. Of the teams ahead of the Sooners on that list, only two have returned more punts than OU’s eight.

Junior wide receiver Marvin Mims has six punt returns through three games and is averaging 19.67 per return, sixth best in the country among FBS teams. It has been since 2016, a span of 74 games, that Oklahoma last returned a punt for a touchdown. Dede Westbrook did it that season against Kansas. Interestingly, Riley took over as head coach the following season.

Something tells me we’re going to see a punt returned for a touchdown by Oklahoma this season.

Of course, special teams involves a lot more than just returning kicks. Covering kicks is also critical to gain field position and, of course making field goals and extra points with consistency can often make the difference in a game.

Michael Turk ranks second in the Big 12, averaging 42.83 yards per punt. Zach Schmit has taken over the field goal and kickoff duties for the departed Gabe Brkic. Schmit is two of three on field goal attempts, 17 of 17 on extra points and 18 of his 22 kickoffs have gone into the end zone as touchbacks.

It’s the role of the offense to score more points than the opponents, the defense is charged with getting the ball back for the offense and holding the opponent to fewer points, but it is the work of special teams that bridges the other two, supporting both the offense and defense as a complementary part of a team’s success — each and every week throughout the season.