'A lot of people were making fun of us' - Brent Venables fires back at the haters after criticized decision pays off against Tennessee

One of the biggest reasons why the Oklahoma Sooners left Knoxville with a win last Saturday night was because of the leg of kicker Tate Sandell.

Sandell, who went viral during the game for the length of his shorts, connected on all four of his field goal attempts -- including three that were longer than 50 yards -- in the Sooners' 33-27 win over the Tennessee Vols.

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables calls out the haters that made fun of the Sooners for signing Tate Sandell

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables was quick to credit Sandell after the win, while also calling out the people who made fun of the Sooners for signing a kicker.

Sandell transferred from UTSA to Oklahoma earlier this year.

"I know we were excited when we announced his signing," said Venables on Sooner Football. "And a lot of people at the time were making fun of us for bragging about signing a kicker. Well, if you know the history of the first couple of years since we've been here, you know [that] we lost five games in our first year by one score when we missed kicks in every single one of those games."

"We knew we had a real weapon (in Sandell)," continued Venables. "And in this league, when it truly does come down to the fourth quarter [and] the last few possessions of the game, all of those opportunities make a big difference. And certainly, that's what Tate has done.

"He missed his first one of the season, and then I don't know if it's 14 or 15 straight (that he's made), and he hit three of them on the road 50-plus yards. Incredible. We took the one sack and really felt that could have been detrimental...and it's like, what are we going to do? I ain't punting. I damn sure ain't going for it. We're going to kick the field goal. 55 yarder, and somehow, some way, it just kind of found its way over the right side of the crossbar."

I don't think anyone will be making fun of Oklahoma for bragging about signing a kicker after what we saw from Sandell this past weekend. He made some big-time kicks that ultimately ended up being the difference in the game.

This article was originally published on A to Z Sports Oklahoma Sooners as ‘A lot of people were making fun of us’ – Brent Venables fires back at the haters after criticized decision pays off against Tennessee.

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