Brent Venables admits coaching mistakes in previous years, aiming to rectify past with underrated transfer pickup
If you ever get the chance to talk with Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables, it's clear from the jump that he is an open and honest coach. He'll be the first to take accountability for mistakes and admit when he was at fault for something going wrong. In his latest example of that, Venables […]
If you ever get the chance to talk with Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables, it's clear from the jump that he is an open and honest coach. He'll be the first to take accountability for mistakes and admit when he was at fault for something going wrong.
In his latest example of that, Venables admitted that Oklahoma's kicking woes have burned them over his first three seasons.
"I didn’t feel like we were very efficient in the areas that you need to — red zone, third down, fourth down, turning the ball over — things of that nature. But the last two years, we really struggled in some tight games and we’ve missed way too many field goals worth counting.”
According to George Stoia of SoonerScoop, Oklahoma has played 14 one-score games under Venables, going 5-9. In those 14 games, the Sooners were 18-of-30 on field goals. Six of those losses were by three or fewer points. In each of them, Oklahoma missed at least one field goal. Several of these were big moments, with their 2022 and 2024 bowl games, as well as their final Bedlam game against Oklahoma State. If OU wins those games, the perception around Venables shifts drastically.
That's why Venables and special teams coordinator Doug Deakin heavily pursued a kicker in the spring transfer portal window to ease those concerns. They landed one of the best in Tate Sandell, who joined the Sooners from UTSA.
Last season, Sandell went 19/23 on field goals, finishing 39th in the FBS in field goal percentage at a respectable .826. If you filter out kickers with under 20 attempted kicks last season, however, Sandell rises a full 19 spots to 20th overall. Oklahoma's kickers last season barely combined to kick for 80% last season. Three of his misses were from over 50 yards, with one as a 61-yarder just before half in the Roadrunners' win over Memphis.
Sandell's numbers are impressive, with a career-long of 54 yards, and he was 17/18 on field goals from 49 yards or fewer last season. Venables remarked about Sandell's attitude and appeal to the Sooners' coaching staff.
"Tate is a guy who’s got great maturity. He’s incredibly confident. He’s a guy who’s played college football, soccer background, he’s a gym rat, he loves pressure. If I were just describing the adjectives in the short amount of time I’ve gotten to know him without getting to coach him every day, those were things that were really attractive to us and he’s certainly got really good talent as well.”
If Oklahoma can get even a slight improvement here in the margins, they'll be in a much better position to return to their winning ways.
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