It’s only 5 yards. But to some coaches moving the kickoff point from the 35- to the 30-yard line is the biggest rule change in college football in decades.

The days of routine touchbacks are over. Only the best of the best, or the strongest of the strong, have the leg to sail kickoffs through the end zone.

Oklahoma isn’t one of the teams in a panic over the new rule. There’s several reasons why the Sooners are looking at the change as an opportunity rather than an obstacle.

Special teams have typically been a strong suit for the Sooners. There’s no reason that should change in 2007.

“It is going to be big for both sides,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “The cover team has to be great, and fortunately we’ve been really good covering. “You’re just going to have opportunities for big plays and big hits.”

Garrett Hartley has been thinking about the rule change since the spring. He’s one of the best kickers in the program’s history. He converted 19-of-20 field goal attempts last season and has one of the strongest legs in college football.

But he figured adding some bulk might help minimize the rule change’s effect on the Sooners’ coverage team.

“If you kind find a kicker out there that can give you over a 4 second hang time and put the ball anywhere around the goal, I don’t think it’s going to affect it that much,” Hartley said. “If anything, I think it might be a benefit to us in keeping them inside the 20-yard line.”

Hartley added another five pounds of muscle to his 5-foot-9 frame. The added bulk was a benefit of spending the summer in Norman and working out with the team instead of heading off to kicking camps.

Hartley smirked when asked if it was because he anticipated having to make more tackles.

“That wasn’t my key perspective on trying to add muscle,” he said. “But if I have to, that’s fine.”

His length strength has been noticeable during preseason scrimmages. His 50-yard field goals tries look routine.

“It doesn’t matter where he’s at, it seems like everything he hits clears the bar with a lot of room to spare,” holder Hays McEachern said. “It’s amazing.”

Comfort shouldn’t be a problem for Hartley. Both McEachern and deep snapper Derek Shaw are back this season.

If Hartley returns to his 2006 form, it could be an All-America season for the Sooner kicker.