Kicker Tate Sandell becoming vital to OU's success
NORMAN — Brent Venables wasn’t exactly sure what the Sooners were getting when they landed place kicker Tate Sandell out of the transfer portal last winter.
But he knew one thing. Sandell was no stranger to adversity. If there were struggles, he’d fight through them.
That’s been on display for the Sooners all season. Sandell missed his first field goal attempt as a Sooner, and it was a critical one — a 42-yard, fourth-quarter attempt against Michigan. Since then, Sandell has made 12 consecutive field goals.
Venables was “hopeful” that the Sooners were getting a real weapon when Sandell committed, and that has carried through.
“What I didn’t know until I met him on his visit was how confident and how tough he was,” Venables said Tuesday. “The makeup of all your players, you don’t really truly know until you go through a recruiting process with them, have them on campus several times. When he sat in my office for the first time, and being around his mom and dad, he really endeared himself to me — his toughness and things he liked to do off the field.
“He was just built a little bit different — confident, edgy, very competitive. We felt that if things didn’t go his way, man, this is a kid that’s gonna fight.”
Sandell hasn’t just been making his field goals. He’s been making them from long range, too. He’s made all three of his field goal attempts from 50-plus yards, including two attempts from 55 yards out. The latest 55-yarder came in OU’s 26-7 win over South Carolina.
Sandell is one of only 23 kickers who have attempted at least three field goals from beyond 50 yards. Only two of those kickers have made all of their attempts from that range, and Sandell is one of them.
He also doesn’t lack confidence on those longer attempts.
“I know in my head that, if I do what I’m supposed to do, and I hit the ball where I’m supposed to hit it, I have a pretty good shot at just giving it a chance,” Sandell said Monday. “And so that’s what I just try to do every time.”
The Sooners have leaned on Sandell because of what he’s shown in practice. The team routinely simulates two-minute drills and other pressure situations in practice, where Sandell is expected to come up in clutch situations. And he has confidence in any kick, even if it’s from beyond 60 yards.
“He doesn’t want to kick the 38-yarder. He wants the big kick in a big moment.”
That’s huge for the Sooners, considering what they face the rest of the way. OU hosts No. 8 Ole Miss this Saturday (11 a.m., ABC) and is a 5.5-point favorite, indicating a close game. The Sooners close out their schedule with five ranked opponents.
The SEC has already seen 17 conference games end in one-score margins, and the Sooners project to be in several of those situations moving forward. Venables said Sandell’s kicking certainly will play a factor into gameday decision making.
“He’s been fantastic for us, but absolutely, it does affect decisions that we make,” Venables said. “The league that we’re in, you get in position to get points, he’s a guy that you really feel confident that you come away scoring in those situations.”
Sandell’s always going to bet on himself in those situations.
“Just try not to get too high, get too low,” Sandell said on his mindset. “Never know when my name’s gonna be called, and sometimes it’s not going to get called all game. Just gotta wait on that moment and when it’s called, it’s my job to be ready.”
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