Oklahoma lands record-breaking kicker who should solve a major problem

Not much really came from Oklahoma's new Crimson Combine two weeks ago, but it was at least made clear that the Sooners still had a problem to solve at kicker. Problem solver Jim Nagy, OU's general manager, might have found the solution.

According to multiple reports Friday morning, UTSA transfer kicker Tate Sandell has signed with the Sooners with two years of eligibility left entering his redshirt-junior season. And he can do it all.

UTSA transfer kicker Tate Sandell signs with Sooners

Sandell just announced on Wednesday that he planned to enter the transfer portal after three years, including a redshirt season, at UTSA.

After redshirting in 2022, Sandell took over UTSA's kickoff duties as a redshirt freshman. He never kicked a ball out of bounds in 77 attempts and set a program record with 42 touchbacks in a season.

Sandell then earned all kicking duties last season and was named an honorable mention All-American Athletic Conference selection. He again had kickoff duties and broke his own record with 62 touchbacks on 85 kickoffs.

He made 19 of 23 field-goal attempts and 35 of 36 extra points. Sandell then set another program record with his strong leg, making a 54-yard field goal against Memphis, which was the longest made field goal in UTSA history.

Sandell is originally from Port Neches-Groves High School in Texas and 247Sports ranked him as a top-15 kicker in the 2022 class.

With the addition of Sandell, who should emerge as the starter, the Sooners now have four kickers on their roster. Two are local products, while Austin Welch transferred from Kennesaw State during the winter.

As OU is bracing for a potential 105-player roster limit, it wouldn't be surprising if one of those kickers enter the transfer portal before it closes at the end of the day Friday. After third-string quarterback Cole Gonzales entered the portal on Thursday, the Sooners currently have more kickers than quarterbacks.

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