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The Oklahoma Sooners have quietly added an accomplished prospect to their specialist group.
Before the beginning of OU's fall camp this week, it was revealed that Preston Tarpley has joined the Sooners' roster as a kicker. A seemingly minor move on the surface, but diving deeper into the player reveals quite the find by Oklahoma.
Tarpley is a three-time Texas state champion out of Gunter High School, a program that has won three consecutive Class 3A Division II state titles. The Tigers have complied as much hardware as anyone over the last few years, winning five state championships in total since 2016.
This past season, Tarpley served as the Tigers' kicker, punter and starting quarterback. He helped lead Gunter to its third title in as many years by way of some impressive statistical feats.
As a senior during the 2024 season, Tarpley was reportedly 81-of-83 on point after attempts while holding a 75-percent touchback percentage on kickoffs and 10-of-11 on field goal attempts. This included a perfect 9-for-9 on field goals during the Tigers' playoff run. Tarpley threw for 2,445 yards as Gunter's signal caller and scored 28 total touchdowns.
"Interesting thing about Preston is, he was also our state champion starting quarterback last year," Former Gunter recruiting coordinator Eric Chavez told Sooners Illustrated. "On top of that, he was also the best kicker in the state, best three-point shooter in the district in basketball, and one of the top ranked golfers in the state. Not a coincidence, everything he's naturally good at seems to involve accuracy, depth perception, and trajectory. Off the field, he's the class clown but in a good way. As a kicker, he's all business. He's very process-oriented. I think he also does a phenomenal job of balancing self-evaluation without overcorrecting. Which, as a kicker, is more important than it seems. I think Preston's athleticism and understanding of the game has always given us an advantage, especially when it comes to certain special teams situations. It's not an exaggeration by any means to say he was like having another coach on the field."
In his prep career, Tarpley made 276 of his 281 point after attempts and went 24-of-31 on field goals. He amassed 348 career points in the kicking game and made 165 consecutive PATs, the second-longest streak all-time in the history of Texas high school football. Tarpley earned valedictorian honors, named an all-district quarterback selection and was picked to be a team captain.
Tarpley will wear #33 at OU and joins a kicking room featuring four other members. He'll compete alongside UTSA transfer Tate Sandell, Kennesaw State transfer Austin Welch, Central Oklahoma transfer Grayson Miller and redshirt freshman Liam Evans.
Tarpley had been in communication with SMU and Louisiana, among others, last fall. Oklahoma special teams coordinator Doug Deakin secures another quality get and Tarpley takes his decorated career to the next level.