Oklahoma Believes it Can Still Hit Another Level on Special Teams

Special teams coordinator Doug Deakin raved about how his unit played against Tennessee, but he sees easy areas for improvement during OU's bye week.

Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell made all four of his field goal attempts against Tennessee. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Oklahoma’s special teams unit played a crucial role in the Sooners’ 33-27 win over Tennessee. 

Kicker Tate Sandell took all the headlines. 

He went 4-for-4 on field goals, and he was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week and a Lou Groza Award star of the week for his kicking exploits, but Sandell wasn’t the only OU player who had a nice night on special teams. 

Safety Robert Spears-Jennings followed up his first half interception with a phenomenal play to recover Tennessee’s first onside kick. 

Receiver Ivan Carreon then followed that up with a secure play on the hands team of his own. 

Punter Grayson Miller avoided disaster and was able to get a solid punt away after struggling to field a snap to pin the Volunteers inside the 20-yard line. 

The Sooners rank 18th in special teams per ESPN’s SP+ metrics, but OU special teams coordinator Doug Deakin believes there’s still plenty of room for improvement in the final month of the season. 

“We’ve had too many penalties,” Deakin said after the win. “… However, the Oklahoma Sooners on special teams — they’re aggressive, they’re brave, and they play their butts off.”

Sandell leads the country with six made field goals of 50 yards or more, and he’s tied a school record with 18-straight made field goals. 

Miller is tied for 13th in the country by averaging 47.1 yards per punt. 

Receiver Isaiah Sategna is 24th in average yards per punt return, too, which has allowed the OU defense to play with a field position advantage more times than not in 2025. 

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If Deakin can help eliminate the penalties on special teams in the final three games of the regular season, OU will be able to apply that same pressure to Alabama, Missouri and LSU as the Sooners chase down a berth to the College Football Playoff. 

“I need to clean that up because that’ll cost us,” Deakin said. “… However, these guys play their butts off, and they’re super talented, and so getting them in the right position to play — talk about a hands team rep: Robert Spears-Jennings, they onside left — to our left — I mean, da-na-na, da-na-na. I mean, just two hands, plucks it out of the air, because the player’s going to cut off our outside player. 

“That’s players making plays.”