The Oklahoma Sooners will be entering a new chapter in the next college football season. After residing in the Big 12 for an extended period, the Sooners will be moving to the SEC in the 2024 season. With a new conference comes an important change in Oklahoma's coaching staff.

Oklahoma football is set to sign former San Diego State University special teams coordinator Doug Deakin as an analyst for their special teams, per Collin Kennedy. It's not a flashy move by any means, but it's a move that will help the team get a better foothold once they start play in the heated SEC.

“Breaking: Oklahoma is expected to hire ex-San Diego State special teams coordinator Doug Deakin as a special teams analyst, sources tell me and @mzenitz. Helped SDSU rank top-10 in ESPN’s FBS special teams efficiency each of the last three years.”

Special teams are a perennially underrated component in all levels of football. Naturally, the offense and the defense get most of the attention, since they play most of the snaps. However, an elite special teams unit will make both sides of the ball play better. They get better field position for both sides and allow them to play optimally. Oklahoma is hoiming that Deakin's guidance will propel them to new heights in their first football season in the SEC.

Both Oklahoma and Texas decided to spurn the Big 12 for the SEC last season. They negotiated a mega-deal in order to facilitate an early exit from their former conference.