Top 10 Sooners: Kicker
Every Thursday this summer, SI Sooners ranks the top 10 Oklahoma Sooners at their respective positions. Today: kicker.
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Kickers are an underappreciated position in football.
They often don’t practice with the rest of their teammates. They don’t hit. They don’t require a high degree of fitness. They wear different facemasks.
Garrett Hartley
Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images via Wochit
Often derided as pseudo football players, the position suddenly takes on greater importance when the coach needs a reliable kicker to win a game that couldn’t be decided during the previous 59 minutes.
That’s why clutch kickers are more revered than just prolific ones — they have that special makeup that allows them to embrace the big moments.
Here are the top 10 kickers in Oklahoma football history:
10. Tony DiRienzo (1973-75)
Tony DiRienzo wasn’t asked to make a lot of kicks for Barry Switzer’s back-to-back national champion squads, but he did make some big ones. DiRienzo led the Sooners in ’74 when he made 6-of-11 field goals, and again in ’75 when he made 13-of-19. This was still the dawn of the soccer-style kicker, so his accuracy was impressive at the time. Where DiRienzo stood out, though, was his distance: he made three of the 12 longest field goals in OU history, including a school-record 60-yarder against Kansas in 1973, a 56-yarder against Oklahoma State in 1975, and a 52-yarder against KU in ’75 (the Sooners’ only points in a 23-3 loss). During the 1974 season, DiRienzo went 39-of-39 on PAT kicks. DiRienzo was an eighth-round pick of the San Diego Chargers in the 1976 NFL Draft (212th overall) but didn’t play in any regular season games.
9. Trey DiCarlo (2002-04)
Bob Stoops needed a kicker who could keep up with talent like Jason White and Adrian Peterson. He found one in Trey DiCarlo. DiCarlo tied the school record with 11 PATs against Texas A&M in 2003, and set the school record for kickers with 17 points against Texas — also in ’03. His 131 points scored during the 2003 season still ranks was the sixth-most in school history among any position and is third among kickers. He finished his career with 306 points, which was sixth in school history at the time and still ranks tied for sixth among kickers. He ranks seventh at OU with 43 field goals, and his FG percentage of .717 ranks fifth. DiCarlo hit a confidence lull late in his career during the ’04 season and was replaced by No. 1 on this list.
8. R.D. Lashar (1987-90)
Record-setting big brother Tim was a national champion, but R.D. Lashar was a perfect replacement. Lashar hit a 54-yarder against Missouri and a 53-yarder against Tulsa and went on to outscore his brother by seven points (328-321) and ranks fifth in school history among all scorers. Lashar’s 44 career FGs rank him sixth in school history and his career FG percentage of .698 ranks him sixth — just ahead of Tim. Between the two of them, a Lashar led the Sooners in scoring seven years straight and in kick scoring eight years in a row. R.D. Lashar’s biggest kick was a 31-yard field goal with six seconds left to beat Nebraska in Lincoln in 1986, and in ’87 he made a 22-yarder with 8:14 left to beat Colorado in Boulder.
7. Tim Lashar (1983-86)
At least R.D. kept of lot of his brother’s records in the family. Tim Lashar probably didn’t have his brother’s distance, but he did set all new standards for kickers at OU, starting with a record 19 field goals during the 1985 national championship season. That included two in a 13-7 win at Minnesota and two more in a 13-0 victory in Stillwater — the Bedlam Ice Bowl game — including the capper with 5:44 to play. During the ’86 season, Lashar set a new mark by hitting gall 66 of his PAT kicks — still second in school history. His career PAT percentage (.983) still ranks third in OU annals. Lashar’s career field goal percentage (.686) ranks seventh among OU kickers — one spot behind his little brother. Lashar played one season in the NFL with Chicago, where he made 3-of-4 field goals and 10-of-10 PATs during the 1987 strike season.
6. Tim Duncan (1999-2001)
Tim Duncan’s OU legacy will always be that of a national champion, and he contributed massively to the Sooners’ title run. In the win at Kansas State, Duncan opened the scoring with a 40-yard field goal, then closed it with a 24-yarder with 3:27 to play in a 41-31 OU triumph. He made two field goals and all three PATs in a 35-31 win at Texas A&M. He made a 39-yard FG in a 12-7 win at Oklahoma State. And in the Big 12 Championship Game win over Kansas State, he again opened the scoring with a 33-yard field goal and then iced game with a clutch 46-yard kick with 1:25 to play that put the Sooners up 27-17. Duncan scored 105 points in 2000, then scored 115 in 2001, which included a new school record 21 field goals (that number still ranks tied for second). Duncan’s .667 field goal percentage ranks eighth in OU history. Duncan played one season in the NFL with the Cardinals, where he made 6-of-10 field goals, including a 53-yarder, and 5-of-6 PATs.
Uwe von Schamann beats Ohio State
Photo courtesy Uwe von Schamann
5. Uwe von Schamann (1976-78)
Although he’ll always be remembered for the one moment in which he boldly “conducted” chants of “block that kick” before nailing a 41-yard game-winner in the final seconds of a 29-28 win at Ohio State — he was the Baker Mayfield of OU kickers — von Schamann had a memorable college career before going on to fame in the NFL as well. He buried a 58-yarder at Oklahoma State later during that 1977 season — still the second-longest in school history — and also has two 54-yarders on his ledger, giving him three of the four longest kicks in school history. His .647 field goal percentage ranks only 10th in school history, but his PAT percentage (.993) ranks first. Von Schamann was a seventh-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in the 1979 NFL Draft (189th overall) and went on to play six seasons with the Dolphins, where he made 101-of-149 field goals and 237-of-250 PATs from 1979-84, made second team All-Pro in 1982 and played in two Super Bowls.
4. Michael Hunnicut (2011-14)
Michael Hunnicut set virtually every kicking record as he supported one of the most prolific offensive stretches in OU history. He set marks for most points by a kicker in a game (17), most field goals in a season (24) and most field goals in a career (74). His 53-yarder to end the first half at Kansas State during his freshman season signaled a new era of OU kicking was underway. Hunnicutt finished his career with 450 points, then a school record, which also included 21 field goals (second in OU history) and 17 (tied for ninth). In 2011, he nailed 21-of-24 field goals, and two years later he buried 24-of-27. His career field goal percentage (.833) stands as the best in the OU record book.
Gabe Brkic (right)
Ty Russell / OU Athletics
3. Gabe Brkic (2018-present)
Obviously Brkic’s entry is incomplete. But in just two seasons, he’s been that impressive, making 37-of-43 field goals, including a school-record 17-of-17 during his redshirt freshman year. Brkic was 4-for-4 (tying the school record) in a loss at Kansas State in 2019, and then he capped the biggest comeback in school history by making a 31-yard field goal in the final seconds in a win at Baylor. Brkic tied his own school record last year by making four field goals at TCU. Brkic has the distance, too: his 54-yarder last year tied for the fourth longest in OU history, and he finished the 2020 season booming 4-of-6 from beyond 50 yards. He still has two more seasons to add to his career totals, and in Lincoln Riley’s offense, he’ll get plenty of chances.
Austin Seibert
Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images via Wochit
2. Austin Seibert (2015-18)
Simply put, no kicker in the history of college football has been more productive than Austin Seibert. He was the perfect kicker at the perfect time, pairing with Lincoln Riley, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray to reset virtually every OU kick scoring record. Seibert in 2018 tied Billy Sims and Steve Owens’ school record with 138 points, and he ended up scoring 499, including 310 extra points — both are the most in NCAA history. That included a school record 81 straight PATs. What elevates Seibert above his peers: he also was the Sooners’ punter for all four seasons and ranks sixth in school history with a 41.66-yard average. He also turned in 132 points in 2017 (second-best all-time by an OU kicker), and 124 in 2015 (fifth). His 63 career field goals rank second in school history behind Hunnicutt and his career percentage of .797 ranks fourth. Seibert was a fifth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 2019 NFL Draft (170th overall) and in two NFL seasons with Cleveland and Cincinnati, Seibert is 31-of-38 on field goals and 38-of-44 on PATs.
Garrett Hartley
NFL Photos
1. Garrett Hartley (2004-07)
With record-setting accuracy, surprising power from a 5-foot-8 frame and a record of clutch kicks that elevated him to a career in the NFL, Garrett Hartley stands atop the rest. In 2005, Hartley made three field goals in an overtime win over Baylor (including one in overtime), bombed a 50-yarder in a 31-24 win at Nebraska, and opened the Holiday Bowl with a 34-yard field goal in a 17-14 win over Oregon. In 2006, Hartley kicked four FGs and three PATs in the controversial loss at Oregon, provided the decisive points with a short field goal in a 17-16 win at Texas A&M, and was 2-for-2 in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State. In 2007, Hartley’s 41-yard field goal with 1:34 to play iced a 17-7 win at Iowa State. He has two of the longest kicks in OU history — a 53-yarder against Utah State in 2007 and a 52-yarder against Texas in 2005 — and his 310 career points rank ninth in school history (sixth among kickers). Hartley made 47 career field goals (fifth-best in OU annals), including a school record 19-of-20 before Brkic’s record-setting freshman season. Hartley’s .810 field goal percentage was also a school record before Hunnicutt reset it. Hartley played six seasons in the NFL with the Saints and Browns. His five years in New Orleans were productive: he finished his career by making 85-of-104 field goals, including a long of 55, and hit 178-of-179 PATs from 2008-2014.
