Oklahoma Sooners

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma’s special teams units have had their ups-and-downs in the past five years. Multiple kickers on scholarship and shoddy coverage teams left lasting images in the minds of Sooners fans. Fortunately for OU, the production of its special teams units has improved recently, including a stellar performance in 2012 as those units played direct roles in helping OU win multiple games.

Jay Boulware hopes to take the Sooners’ special teams units to another level.

The Sooners' new special teams coordinator has several talented pieces to work with, including punt returner Jalen Saunders and kickoff returners Roy Finch and Brennan Clay. Saunders broke open Bedlam with his 81-yard punt return for a touchdown, Clay helped the Sooners capture a Big 12 road win at West Virginia with his 46-yard kickoff return in the final minutes and Finch had OU’s lone kickoff return for a touchdown with his 100-yard gallop against Kansas.

“None of the kids that I've been around at my last two stops were nearly as talented as these kids are as return men,” said Boulware, who coached Iowa State and Auburn before his arrival in Norman. “I tell these kids all the time, there's no reason they shouldn't be the most feared return unit in the country because they are that talented.”

Kicker Michael Hunnicutt, too, has provided much-needed stability in the kicking game for the past two seasons. He has made 36 of 43 career field goal attempts, but the Sooners are looking to transform Hunnicutt into a better weapon from 40 yards and beyond.

“He’s an 80-percent field goal guy,” Boulware said. “We just need to continue working and progressing on our field goals outside of 40 yards.”

The major concerns with the special teams this spring are replacing four-year starter Tress Way at punter and finding a kickoff specialist. OU recruited junior college punter Jed Barnett to replace Way and he’s been solid so far.

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After recruiting them for several months, Oklahoma's coaching staff finally was able to talk publicly about the players the Sooners added to the program on signing day. Over the next week or so, SoonerNation will review some of the key things coaches had to say about the players signed at each position group during their signing day webcast on Soonersports.com.

OU will have to replace four-year starter Tress Way at punter this fall. And it won't be easy. Way was one of the nation's top punters and brought peace of mind to the Sooners coaching staff.

Coach Bob Stoops hopes Jed Barnett (Camas, Wash./Laney College) can step right in to fill the void.

"Jed Barnett is a guy we really needed," Stoops said. "He’s one of the best junior college punters in the country. His hang time is around four seconds or better. He averaged over 40 yards per punt. No one gets really excited about Jed until next year when you’re punting the ball. I was focused on it and really excited about Jed. He’s got a big leg, and I really believe he’s going to be a key ingredient for us when we’re on the field next fall."

Stoops said the Sooners went out of their way to land a punter who was ready to make a immediate impact because he felt the punters already on the roster (Dylan Seibert and Jack Steed) weren't quite ready yet. Now, OU is counting on Barnett to win the job and solidify the position for the next two seasons.

"Really excited about getting Jed," said Bobby Jack Wright, who was OU's special teams coordinator in 2012. "He had a heck of a season, I’m anxious to get him out this spring and see how he can do with live bullets coming at him. He’s got a big strong leg, can really boom it."

Welcome to SoonerNation's live coverage of national signing day for the Oklahoma Sooners. We'll be with you throughout the day providing up-to-the minute updates on OU's class of 2013.

Watch live coverage on ESPNU | Talk signing day on our SoonerNation forum | OU class

Follow the live blog after the jump.

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