BREAKING: Oklahoma Lands 2024 4-Star Legacy Quarterback

The Sooners have made a massive addition to their 2024 recruiting class with the commitment of Michael Hawkins Jr.

One of the major centerpieces of Oklahoma’s 2024 recruiting class has been landed.

In a big get for Brent Venables and the Sooners, OU has picked up a commitment Saturday from 4-star quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. out of Frisco Emerson High School in McKinney, TX.

Mike Hawkins Jr. has committed to Oklahoma.

The Frisco Emerson four-star recruit chooses the Sooners over TCU. Another big-time DFW quarterback is headed to Norman. pic.twitter.com/7l49H9pEVC

— Shawn McFarland (@McFarland_Shawn) April 8, 2023

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Hawkins is ranked the No. 19 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class by the 247Sports composite metric and the No. 53 player in the state of Texas. He had long been rated a 4-star by 247 Sports, but was recently dropped to a 3-star. He still rates four stars in the 247 Sports Composite rankings and is seen as a 4-star by Rivals and ESPN. On3 also has Hawkins rated as a 3-star.

He ultimately picked OU over TCU, but Hawkins also holds offers from other major programs such as Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State and 10 others.

Hawkins has been in Jeff Lebby's crosshairs for quite some time, having been offered by Oklahoma in July of last year and brought to Norman for multiple visits since then. To land Hawkins, Lebby beat out his brother-in-law, TCU quarterbacks coach Kendal Briles.

#AGTG , Beyond blessed to receive an offer from The University of @OU_Football Thank you for having me!! #BoomerSooner #OUDNA @Coach_Leb @CoachVenables @OU_CoachGundy @JOE_JON_FINLEY @CoachLWig @air14football pic.twitter.com/7CMa8OPDzf

— michael Hawkins (@mikehawkinsj) July 28, 2022

Outside of just being a talented prospect, Hawkins also has a strong legacy connection to the Sooners in his father, Michael Hawkins Sr., a former OU player in the early 2000s.

Hawkins Sr. was a cornerback for Bob Stoops’ and Brent Venables' 2002 team, having an incredible path to Norman that older OU fans likely will remember. Another member of that '02 recruiting class was an offensive lineman from Texas named Jeff Lebby.

The former Sooner’s mother reportedly had a drug problem, which led him to move in with his grandmother. But she passed away, forcing him to move in with his father.

Hawkins’ father wouldn’t allow him to participate in extracurricular activities, creating friction to the point that they got into a physical altercation that led to Hawkins Sr. being kicked out and becoming homeless, sleeping in parks and living on bags of chips and stale loaves of bread while still in high school. 

Eventually, a former neighbor took Hawkins in and he began to play football as a cornerback, quickly becoming a standout and landing with Oklahoma.

Michael Hawkins Sr. and Bob Stoops in 2002 / Maliek Hawkins via Twitter

After playing with the Sooners, he went on to play in the Arena Football League for a short time before being selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2005 NFL Draft. He would also go on to have stints with the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders.

Now, Hawkins' son has committed to play football at the same program that gave him his own life-changing opportunity a generation ago.

Hawkins Jr. became a prep star at Allen High School, but has now transferred to Emerson. 

He was the District Freshman of the Year and became first-team All-District last year at Allen. 

Michael Hawkins / Michael Hawkins via Twitter

According to MaxPreps, Hawkins rushed for 685 yards and eight touchdowns and passed for 2,816 yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore, then ran for 409 yards and three TDs and threw for 2,024 yards and 20 TDs as a junior. During his sophomore year, he completed 64.8 percent of his passes (162-of-250) and as a junior he hit 55.9 percent (147-of-263).

So far this calendar year, Hawkins has added offers from Missouri, Penn State and Memphis, bringing his total to 17 FBS offers.

In addition to his dad's history with OU, Hawkins has a younger brother on everyone's recruiting radar. Maliek Hawkins is a 2025 cornerback who just received an offer from the Sooners during his visit to OU's Elite Junior Day over the weekend.

#AGTG After a great conversation with @CoachVenables i am extremely blessed to say i have been offered a scholarship to play @OU_Football ! @JayValai #OUDNA #SOULMission #Boomer pic.twitter.com/AFZkjLJghS

— Maliek Hawkins ‘25 (@MaliekHawkins37) March 4, 2023

Hawkins Jr. is Oklahoma’s second verbal commitment of the Sooners' 2024 recruiting class behind Arizona cornerback Jeremiah Newcombe. Like quarterbacks frequently do, Hawkins is expected to spearhead the coaching staff's recruiting efforts and become the face of the '24 class.

OU is coming off an outrageously successful recruiting effort in the 2023 class. In Brent Venables’ first full year, the Sooners’ class ranked No. 6 overall by 247 Sports and came in at No. 4 nationally in the 247 Sports Composite Rankings.

The Sooners already have their quarterback committed in the 2025 class in Kevin Sperry, who's currently a sophomore at Rock Hill High School in Prosper, TX. Lebby also landed 2023 quarterback Jackson Arnold from nearby Guyer High School in Denton, TX. Arnold is currently an early enrollee freshman at OU.