2017 Position Preview: Special Teams

NORMAN -- Junior Austin Seibert handled punting and placekicking duties for the Sooners in both 2015 and 2016, and appears to be on track to repeat the dual task to start out his junior season this year. The Belleville, Ill., native made 11 of his 16 field goal attempts with a long of 39 yards last year and was also 72-of-74 on extra points. With great hang time to allow his coverage team to get into position, he also punted 48 times for an average of 41.1 yards, forced 29 fair catches and pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line 22 times.

Seibert stayed busy last season as he also handled kickoff duties, and with the Sooners' potent offense, he had plenty of chances. He kicked 99 times, forcing a touchback on 49 attempts.

A member of the Ray Guy Award preseason watch list, Seibert followed conditioning workouts and said he worked this summer to refocus and sharpen his placekicking techniques.

“I've been really focusing on it and putting everything else aside,” he said. “Put in the hard work, that's really all it is. It is repetition and analyzing things differently and trying to keep the same leg swing. That has really helped me a lot.”

Also on the roster are redshirt junior Kyle Pfau, redshirt freshman Reece Morrison and true freshman Reeves Mundschau. Rated by 247Sports as the nation's No. 2 punter in the 2017 recruiting class, Mundschau has been competing with Seibert for that starting spot.

Perhaps the biggest question mark for the Sooners' special teams lies with the kick and punt return units. OU must replace the productivity of Joe Mixon and Dede Westbrook, who were responsible for 30 of 35 kickoff returns and 90.5 percent of return yards. Additionally, all 12 of OU's punt returns were recorded by student-athletes no longer on the roster.

Sophomore Mykel Jones and redshirt junior Carson Meier are the only returning players who ran back a kickoff last season, with Meier playing the role of the up-man. Joining Jones as possible candidates in the return game are redshirt sophomore running back Rodney Anderson, sophomore receiver Marquise Brown and first-year players CeeDee Lamb, Trey Sermon and Marcelias Sutton. Graduate transfer wide receiver Jeff Badet could also be an option for the return role. A transfer from Kentucky, Badet averaged 22.9 yards per kick return to rank sixth in the SEC.

“There are a lot of guys there. We have a lot of good guys at both (punt return and kick return spots) and I'm really pleased where we're at,” special teams coordinator and running backs coach Jay Boulware said. “The key is going to be just to see once we get going a little bit who has the best feel for it and can get after it. We only get one shot (during a game) so we want some consistency there, and we want a guy who really wants it and has some bounce in his step. We've got some guys to choose from, but I don't want to single any guys out right now. I want to see those guys continue to work and see where we are.”

Redshirt sophomore walk-on quarterback Connor McGinnis is back as the Sooners' holder this season, as is senior Wesley Horky, who handled punt and kick snaps a year ago. Horky was also one of OU's leading tacklers in punt coverage a year ago.

Players Mentioned

Rodney Anderson

Rodney Anderson

Jeff Badet

Jeff Badet

Marquise Brown

Marquise Brown

Wesley Horky

Wesley Horky

Mykel Jones

Mykel Jones

CeeDee Lamb

CeeDee Lamb

Connor McGinnis

Carson Meier

Carson Meier

Joe Mixon

Reece Morrison

Reeves Mundschau

Kyle Pfau

Austin Seibert

Trey Sermon

Trey Sermon

Marcelias Sutton

Marcelias Sutton

Dede Westbrook

Dede Westbrook

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