Why Oklahoma’s starting quarterback journey is now looking to true freshman Michael Hawkins for success

The Sooners made a massive change this week by benching their five-star quarterback for a freshman.

The Oklahoma Sooners made a massive change this week, with head coach Brent Venables announcing that the team will start true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins over former five-star Jackson Arnold for their Week 5 matchup against the Auburn Tigers.

Hawkins, a four-star recruit in the Class of 2024, had been seen as a part of the promising future at Oklahoma, but he began the season as the No. 2 behind the highly-touted Arnold, who was handed the keys to the program this offseason.

How did we get to this stage and what does Hawkins bring to the fold for the Sooners?

How we got here

Last year, the Sooners saw a marked improvement in their second year under Brent Venables, improving from 6-7 in 2022 to 10-3 in 2023, earning them a top-12 ranking in the country.

Venables had leaned on veteran quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who shined in his second year with the Sooners, tossing for 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns and just six interceptions, while rushing for a whopping 12 scores as well.

Gabriel’s ascension as one of college football’s top quarterbacks created a dilemma for the Sooners, as they had landed the top signal-caller in the Class of 2023, five-star Jackson Arnold, who was expected to play sooner than later at Oklahoma.

Gabriel ultimately elected to enter the transfer portal before the team’s bowl game, paving the way for Arnold to earn the starting job in 2024, which started back in last year’s Alamo Bowl against Arizona, where the five-star threw for 361 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in a 38-24 loss.

Venables revealed on Monday that the decision was Gabriel’s, rather than the team forcing the veteran away from the program.

“You can’t make a guy stay,” Venables said about Gabriel. “The guy is trying to find the next thing; the next chapter for him. I’m sure there was probably some disappointment that [Gabriel] wasn’t more highly thought of in the NFL. He had an amazing year. He was a fantastic quarterback. But we didn’t run anybody off or things like that.”

I did not know at that time that he wasn’t going to go to the NFL,” Venables continued about his conversation with Gabriel at the time. “I didn’t even know I had to fight this fight. I didn’t even realize that you were even considering coming back. And he says, ‘Yeah, but I just want to get closer to home’. We hugged and shook hands. He was a little emotional and I was. It was all really good and positive.”

Arnold had high expectations entering the year, as he was a part of the next wave of young, highly-touted quarterbacks expected to take over for their respective programs this year.

Looking across the country, teams such as Tennessee (Nico Iamaleava), USC (Miller Moss), LSU (Garrett Nussmeier), Michigan (Davis Warren/Alex Orji), and Kansas State (Avery Johnson) all ended up moving to inexperienced quarterbacks as they looked to maintain a high level of success. Some of those decisions have proven to be successful early on, while others have seen ups and downs thus far.

Arnold is among the group that faced his fair share of ups and downs to begin the season. After a four-touchdown performance in Oklahoma’s 51-3 win over Temple in the opener, the sophomore was inconsistent in Week 2, where the Sooners faced some unexpected issues, only beating Houston 16-12.

Arnold completed just 59.4 percent of his passes in that win, while passing for 174 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.

The accuracy issues carried over to Week 3 versus Tulane, where Arnold completed 62.1 percent of his passes, while throwing for 169 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He averaged just 5.8 yards per throw in the game.

Arnold’s benching took place this past weekend in Oklahoma’s first loss of the season. Facing the best defense in the country, the former five-star couldn’t get anything going, throwing for just 54 yards and an interception, while completing 7 of 16 passes for 54 yards. He also fumbled twice, with all the turnovers coming in the first half.

Needing a spark, Venables turned to Hawkins with 1:40 remaining in the first half, and the true freshman took over from there, finishing the game out.

Hawkins’ story

When it came to the 2024 season, true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins may have been one of the more overlooked players on Oklahoma’s roster dating back to the spring.

Entering the offseason, it was clear that this was Jackson Arnold’s team, especially after Dillon Gabriel entered the transfer portal and the Sooners brought in seventh-year senior Casey Thompson for some additional experience to bridge the gap between the starter and the true freshman.

However, Hawkins, who enrolled early, was one of the bigger surprises for Oklahoma in the spring, making the most of his opportunities when running with the twos and especially flashing with his dual-threat potential that differed from the rest of the roster.

Still, coming out of the spring, it was unclear whether the true freshman would supplant Thompson on the depth chart, given the major gap in experience between the two.

But, as the fall rolled along and Hawkins became more comfortable, the impressive true freshman was able to win the No. 2 job, although it was still clearly Arnold’s team heading into the season.

Now, bumps along the road are expected for any first-time starter at the college level, but there was clearly a sense of urgency from Brent Venables in making a quarterback switch this early, with offensive coordinator Seth Littrell pointing out the need for the signal-caller to manage the game and execute after the team’s loss to Tennessee.

“My thing that I’m looking for is a guy who can manage the game and execute at a high level,” Littrell said. “I’m not saying that about anybody. I’m going to evaluate it for myself tomorrow. It starts with me. I got to make sure that I evaluate every situation. It is what it is.”

The move to Hawkins is a quick one, as Arnold got just five games of starting experience, including the bowl game, before Oklahoma moved off the former five-star quarterback in favor of another young, promising option.

In this instance, Hawkins made the most of his opportunities, flashing enough in the spring and winning the backup job in the fall to performing well enough when his name was called this past Saturday.

Working in relief of Arnold against the toughest defense in the country, Hawkins threw for 132 yards and a touchdown on 11 of 18 passing, while getting chances to work on the ground as well. He was able to settle in during the second half, ultimately leading two touchdown drives for Oklahoma in the 25-15 loss.

Hawkins’s ability to scramble could be a major added element for the Sooners, as they struggled with protection against Tennessee.

“He’s a tremendous athlete,” Venables said of Hawkins after the game. “There were several times there where we had edge pressure that we didn’t block and he got outside of it. So he has some playmaking ability and he can hurt you with his legs.”

At this stage, the move appears to be the right one for Oklahoma as they begin a tough SEC schedule, and they need the best quarterback to help them win games currently.

Hawkins will get his shot against the Auburn Tigers this week, earning his first career start on the road for Oklahoma. He has a major opportunity ahead of him to be the guy for the Sooners going forward.

Now, Venables still shared a vote of confidence for Arnold, noting that Saturday was a bad game but that the sophomore still has a ton of time to improve and have a good collegiate career where he can accomplish all of his goals.

“We needed some stuff to go right for us in the second half and not enough things did. And you learn from it,” Venables said. “Just like I told Jackson, ‘Man, that’s a bad moment, that’s a bad night. That’s not a bad career. So stay out of the gutter and focus on getting better.’ And that’s all of us.”

“ackson’s going to have an amazing future and career. He’s going to play this game a long time and all of that will work itself out in due time.”

But, for now, this is Hawkins’s team, and his journey will begin this Saturday against Auburn, with kickoff slated for 3:30 p.m. ET.