Will they be special?

By John Shinn
The Norman Transcript

August 21, 2007 12:41 am

— 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.
But that isn’t on his mind, at least not yet.
“The important thing for me is to be as good as I can. Trying to keep a level head about things is what’s most important, especially going into my last year,” Hartley said. “Whatever happens after that, so be it.”
The punting job is still a competition. Michael Cohen handled the brunt of the duties last season, but deferred to Mike Knall in short-field situations.
But Knall stepped his game up this fall and has been neck-and-neck with Cohen for the top spot. The Sooners might very well ride the hot leg this season.
The same could hold true in the return game. Reggie Smith showed explosive ability as both a kick and punt returner last season. The only thing that slowed him was a midseason leg injury.
He’ll handle both duties again this season. Juaquin Iglesias averaged a team-best 25.9 yards a kick return last season. Redshirt freshman Dominique Franks has also worked at the spots during camp.
But the biggest new weapon in the Sooners’ special teams’ arsenal is redshirt freshman DeMarco Murray. The running back has been the Sooners’ best open-field runner in both spring and preseason practice. He should provide a major boost to a return game that ranked sixth in the Big 12 in kick returns.
There’s no doubt the new kickoff spot will add some excitement to the game. The Sooners have the talent at the right positions to exploit the added opportunities.
If they pull it off, it could be another exciting season for OU’s special teams.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com