After Tennessee Disaster, Oklahoma's QB Position is Now a Wide-Open Competition

The Sooners got a rough start against the Vols from Jackson Arnold, and backup Michael Hawkins came in and moved the football without any turnovers. Who starts this week at Auburn?

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — Brent Venables had no choice. The only path forward was obvious.

Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold, so uneven in his first four career starts, suddenly couldn’t hang onto the football on Saturday night against Tennessee.

So less than halfway through what became a 25-15 loss to the No. 6-ranked Volunteers, Venables pulled Arnold and replaced him with freshman Michael Hawkins.

Now, as the No. 15 Sooners lick  their wounds while preparing to hit the road at Auburn, there was one pervading question to be asked in the postgame press conference.

Was the change to give Arnold a different perspective on a lousy game? Or is it more permanent?

In short, does Venables have a quarterback competition on his hands for the first time in his head coaching career?

Absolutely. Starting Monday, it’s Arnold versus Hawkins for the starting job, Venables proclaimed late Saturday night.

“Figure out who the the best guy is to, you know, help us get to number four, find our fourth win,” Venables said.

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Seth Littrell seemed a little surprised to hear that Venables had declared the competition open this week.

“I’m not gonna get into this quarterback evaluation thing tonight,” Littrell said. “My thing that I’m looking for is a guy who can manage the game and execute at a high level.”

That wasn’t Arnold against the Vols. In reality, he’s had a tough time being consistent through the first four games — or his first five starts, going back to last year’s Alamo Bowl loss to Arizona, in which he threw two touchdowns but lost four turnovers.

Saturday against Tennessee, he lost three more: an interception to a receiver covered by three white-clad defensive backs, a fumble on the goal line that was supposed to be pitched to the running back, and a disheveled pass that was ruled to have been backwards for a 21-yard loss, resulting in another fumble.

In his five starts, Arnold has lost nine turnovers, and those have directly produced 37 points for the opposition.

Hawkins began a little uneven himself, fumbling a wayward snap on his first play, then spending most the rest of the night escaping Tennessee’s fearsome pass rush.

But statistically, the competition wasn’t close.

Arnold completed 7-of-16 passes for 54 yards and netted minus-21 yards rushing on five carries.

Hawkins completed 11-of-18 for 132 yards with a touchdown pass. He also rushed for a touchdown, scrambling and flipping into the end zone, although that was taken away after a lengthy replay review determined he was on the ground before the ball crossed the line. (Jovantae Barnes cashed that drive in on the next play.)

“It was a great moment obviously for me,” Hawkins said. “It was nothing big. Just maximizing my opportunity.”

Arnold had nine possessions, committed three turnovers, had three three-and-outs, one loss on downs, one safety and produced three points.

Hawkins had seven possessions, suffered zero turnovers, also had three three-and-outs and one loss on downs, but drove 66 and 76 yards for touchdowns in the final minutes.

“I think the big thing is trying to get comfortable with the system the first time you get in there,” Hawkins said, “just trying to build your eyes and put points on the board.”

For Hawkins, it was a good moment, maybe not great. The true freshman from Frisco, TX, via Allen, is the son of former Venables defensive back Mike Hawkins Sr. He’s athletic, explosive, dynamic — and as a high school senior last year showed he’s a gifted passer, too.

He enrolled in January and almost immediately won the backup quarterback job behind Arnold while endearing himself to his teammates as a smart, composed young athlete who’s still coming into his own as a leader.

“He's a tremendous athlete,” Venables said. “There were several times there where we had edge pressure that we didn't block, and he got outside of. And so he has some playmaking ability, and he can, you know, hurt you with his legs, but also, that can't be your game. And so, but we did have a few drives where we got into a nice rhythm, and he showed that he can make some plays. And then there's some plays out there, too, that we have opportunities there that we didn't execute — we didn't make the throws.”

“I think he got more comfortable as the game went on,” Littrell said. “He’s a tough kid. He’s full of energy. Obviously he can make you right in a lot of different ways. He’s talented not only in being able to extend plays, but extremely live arm and strong in the pocket. He’s a tough kid. Great mentality. He’s a guy that we’ve been really excited about, along with Jackson. Jackson has a lot of the same.”

Venables doesn’t seem worried that Arnold is any kind of lost cause. Through four games, he’s completing 59.8 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Arnold is averaging just 134.5 yards per game through the air, and his passer efficiency rating is 120.9, which would be tied for 92nd nationally in last week’s ratings.

But Venables and Littrell both sounded optimistic about Arnold’s immediate future, even with him now in the middle of a wide-open quarterback competition.

“I would be surprised if that doesn’t bring out the best in him,” Venables said. “There’ll be some disappointment on Jackson’s part absolutely. But again, he’s a tough young man and he knows he needs to be better. And again, this is a game of performance, and he’ll have the opportunity to go right back at it here this week. He’s a great teammate. He’s a selfless guy. Again, nobody’s harder on him than him. He’s got incredibly high standards. Standards have always driven every decision he makes and who he is as a young man. He’ll respond in the right way.”

Venables said the winner of the competition between Hawkins and Arnold will actually be quite simple.

“Who’s the most consistent and can execute the basics of our offense consistently,” Venables said. “You know, that’s not real complicated. And then you gotta get in the game and you gotta perform, too. That’s part of it, too.”