Amid Offensive Struggles, Brent Venables Sticks By Oklahoma Freshman Michael Hawkins Jr.

The Sooners freshman and Dallas native led the offense to promising production in his homecoming, but the unit failed to capitalize on several opportunities as the Longhorns cruised away to 34-3 win.

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (9) is brought down during the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

DALLAS — Asked if he considered making a switch at quarterback in Oklahoma’s 34-3 loss to Texas on Saturday, Sooners head coach Brent Venables bluntly said “no.”

OU's offense had not left the field without scoring a touchdown since a 49-0 loss to Texas two years ago.

“Overall thoughts on the game,” the 18-year old dual-threat quarterback said, “I just could've came out a little harder. Saw little things I could've fixed on the sideline after plays. Got to do better, could've gotten through it better and just leading my team in a better way. The biggest thing for me is just coming back harder, my mindset of working and leading my team when things go left."

In his Cotton Bowl debut, the first true freshman to ever start a Red River Rivalry game for OU threw 19-for-30 for 148 yards without his top five weapons, Deion Burks, Nic Anderson, Andrel Anthony, Jayden Gibson and Jalil Farooq, who were inactive with injuries of varying timelines. Hawkins threw no interceptions but surrendered a fumble, his first turnover since taking over for Jackson Arnold three weeks ago, and took 20 carries for 61 yards, both team-highs. 

Oct 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (9) looks to throw as Texas Longhorns linebacker Trey Moore (8) defends during the second half at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

“There’s a lot of young guys out there,” Sooners Offensive Coordinator Seth Littrell said. “It’s not just Mike. Again, we got to do a good job of making sure those guys stay comfortable, understanding how we’re trying to accomplish the execution part of things. The things that we do well throughout the week of practice, we gotta carry that over into games. It’s been inconsistent, and that starts with me. I’ll be the first to say it, I’ve got to get better in putting them in situations to be successful, obviously.”

Under Hawkins’ orchestration, the Sooners offense pieced together several productive drives in the first half. He inherited the ball at the Longhorns 45-yard line thanks to Billy Bowman’s interception on Texas’s first drive. He connected with receiver Brenen Thompson for a 12-yard gain on the Sooners’ first play from scrimmage. He carried the ball for 6 yards three plays later to set up a 44-yard Tyler Keltner field goal attempt that sailed wide right.

Hawkins and co. drove 38 yards two possessions later. He found Zion Kearney for a 15-yard completion and handed the keys again to Keltner, whose second try from 42 yards straightened out for an early 3-0 lead.

The offense fizzled thereafter. Hawkins never completed another pass longer than 15 yards and was sacked five times before the Cotton Bowl’s 92,100 fans, 46,050 of which relished witnessing an Oklahoma quarterback struggling in Dallas. His fumble came on the second play of a late first-half drive as the Sooners trailed 14-3, and the Sooners’ toppling arrived shortly after. The Longhorns cashed in the turnover the next play on Quintrevion Wisner’s 43-yard touchdown dash. Freshman running back Taylor Tatum coughed up a fumble the first play of OU’s next drive.

“We're never going to make excuses,” Littrell said. “He's [Hawkins] not going to make them. I'm not going to make them for him. We have to perform at a higher level no matter if it's a fifth-year senior or a true freshman. That's just part of the game. That's the circumstances we have. So as soon as you start making excuses for yourself, it's going to be a long road. We just got to get better. We got to continue to improve.”

Venables did not endorse the team’s overall performance, but he confirmed his confidence in Hawkins, who has become a fan-favorite in two starts. A larger question: When is it time to take Hawkins’ training wheels off? Texas quickly adapted to the Sooners’ short-gain passing strategy. It had no counter for quarters 2-4.

“It's football,” Venables said. “Sometimes, they [Texas] were in position to defend it well, sometimes they weren't,” Venables said. “Sometimes it's us, sometimes it's them. They're a good defense, not going to give you a lot of opportunities. You've got to take them when they're there. Everybody plays a part in that to get into a good rhythm. . . When you lose the momentum, you've got to do a good job of getting the rhythm back, we didn't do a good job and they did a good job on their part."

Oklahoma returns for a true home after nearly a month away from Memorial Stadium against South Carolina next Saturday. Kickoff will be at 11 or 11:45 a.m.