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Upon arriving in Norman, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables assured an emphasis on each part of the sport, together with particular groups.
13 video games into his head teaching profession, Venables delivered on his preliminary promise, bringing a brand new stage of unpredictability to the third part of OU’s soccer workforce.
Jay Nunez, Oklahoma’s Particular Groups Analyst, delivered a trio of faux discipline objectives this 12 months, changing two of the three makes an attempt.
Texas and Iowa State had been every caught off guard as soon as, because the Cyclones even gave up a landing when OU punter Michael Turk flipped the ball to kicker Zach Schmit on a pretend discipline purpose.
Turk virtually struck gold once more towards Texas Tech in Oklahoma’s common season finale, however the punter was unable to efficiently hit tight finish Brayden Willis for a landing on the Sooners’ lone failed pretend discipline purpose try.
Venables’ aggressiveness bled over to the return sport as nicely, as OU’s returners typically got the inexperienced gentle on punts and kickoffs.
In 2021, the Sooners averaged 5.3 punt return yards per sport.
This previous season, Oklahoma improved that mark to 13.0 yards per sport, serving to the offense acquire discipline place.
2022 OU Report Playing cards:
- Wednesday, Jan. 4: Defensive Ends
- Thursday, Jan. 5: Offensive Line
- Friday, Jan. 6: Defensive Tackles
- Saturday, Jan. 7: Tight Ends
- Sunday, Jan. 8: Linebackers
- Monday, Jan. 9: Wide Receivers
- Tuesday, Jan. 10: Cornerbacks
- Wednesday, Jan. 11: Running Backs
- Thursday, Jan. 12: Safeties
- Friday, Jan. 13: Quarterbacks
- Saturday, Jan. 14: Particular Groups
- Sunday, Jan. 15: Teaching Employees
However the place OU took steps ahead within the return sport, Oklahoma regressed in each phases of the kicking sport.
After averaging 51.2 yards per punt in 2021, Turk solely boomed punts 46.8 yards per try in 2022.
He was referred to as into motion 28 extra occasions in 2022, nonetheless, because the offense sputtered at occasions all year long.
Turk nonetheless completed third in the complete nation in yards per punt, as he solely took a minor step again this season.
The Sooners fared worse within the kicking division as Venables needed to exchange the dependable Gabe Brkic from final 12 months’s workforce.
Schmit received the job out of camp, and initially confirmed indicators of promise.
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However because the season wore on, so did Schmit’s consistency.
He missed a pair of key kicks towards West Virginia, a high-pressure kick in extra time towards Texas Tech and an early attempt within the Cheez-It Bowl towards Florida State, and OU misplaced all three of these contests by a discipline purpose.
Schmit made simply 66.7 % of his kicks in 2022, which ended tied for No. 92-overall amongst kickers throughout the nation.
Oklahoma particular groups additionally surrendered momentum with poor kickoff protection in a couple of key moments this season.
Within the convention opener, the Sooners fell into an early 14-0 gap towards Kansas State.
Dillon Gabriel led the offense on a pair of landing drives to knot the sport at 14-14, and Oklahoma appeared as if it was going to regular itself after the early adversity.
However the Sooners allowed Malik Knowles to interrupt off a 58-yard return on the following kickoff, and the Wildcats took management of the sport again by going up 21-14.
A 42-yard kickoff return from West Virginia’s Sam James sparked a Mountaineer landing drive simply earlier than halftime, and Texas Tech virtually had a dream begin to the common season finale after Jordan Brown’s 67-yard return on the opening kickoff, however an Ethan Downs compelled fumble erased the protection mistake.
The efficiency on particular groups was removed from good in 12 months 1 below Venables, however it represented an enchancment because the earlier regime uncared for it to the detriment of the workforce.
Grading the Particular Groups:
- Hoover: C
- Chapman: C+
- Callaway: B-
- Lovelace: C+
Particular Groups GPA: 2.325 (Graded on a 4.0 scale)
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