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Catch Up on Oklahoma's New Starting Quarterback, Michael Hawkins

Sooners On SI has published volumes of stories and videos on the Sooners' freshman QB, who replaced Jackson Arnold against Tennesee and should be the starter Saturday at Auburn.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.
Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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NORMAN — Michael Hawkins’ sudden ascension to the starting quarterback job at Oklahoma should be no surprise to OU fans who have been following his story.

Sooners On SI has chronicled Hawkins’ path since before he committed to play for the school where his father was a cornerback on Bob Stoops’ and Brent Venables’ defense a generation ago. 

Now Hawkins, a true freshman from Frisco, TX, has apparently supplanted sophomore Jackson Arnold as the Sooners’ QB — at least for now.

Hawkins replaced Arnold late in the second quarter of Oklahoma's 25-15 loss to No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night in Norman. After Arnold completed 7-of-16 passes for 54 yards, ran five times for minus-21 yards and committed three turnovers that either cost OU points or gave Tennessee points, Hawkins sparked the OU offense almost immediately.

Hawkins completed 11-of-18 passes for 132 yards and directed two fourth-quarter touchdown drives. Hawkins twice ran for the goal line and was originally rewarded impressive touchdowns — he ran over a defender on one and flipped over a defender on another — but both were take off the board by reply review.

After the game, Venables explained his rationale for making the switch.

“Not taking care of the football,” Venables said. “And really, a poor half of football. So obviously, made a change there. Felt like we needed to. Gave up 12 points off of turnovers there in the first half. Hoping we could bring Mike in and he’d give us a spark. And obviously he did on a few drives there in the second half.”

Venables clarified that Arnold will need to stay focused and make a daily effort to continue to get better. He explained how he would try to make sure Arnold isn’t taking on too much of the blame for the team’s first loss.

“Appeal to his voice of reason,” Venables said. “He's a competitor. He knows what comes with the territory. He’ll be the first to tell you that body of work deserved exactly what happened. So he'll have the opportunity to respond and come back and get after it. I think he will.”

After Arnold’s fifth straight uninspired start, Venables said the job was now open and explained what he liked about what Hawkins brings to the offense. 

“I love Mike,” Venables said. “Mike is ... he's confident, he’s loose in the right ways. The moment’s not going to overwhelm him, even though again he's a young guy. Things happen fast. Mike gets pretty excited, you saw him. He's three or four steps ahead of the play a few times. That's going to happen too. Certainly got to slow things down and let things develop, there’s that piece of it, but he’s a great competitor, got a tremendous amount of talent, and he cares. There's a lot that you really have an appreciate for Mike about.”

Here’s a sampling of Sooners On SI’s coverage of Hawkins over the past two years. OU fans who haven’t kept up should find some of the stories, quotes and interviews quite revealing.

CATCH UP WITH OKLAHOMA QB MICHAEL HAWKINS

From a Young Age, Oklahoma QB Michael Hawkins has Studied the Game of Football

A Powerful List of QB Influencers Put Oklahoma Commit Michael Hawkins On the Right Path

WATCH: Oklahoma QB Michael Hawkins Spring Media Day Interview

Why Youth Prevailed Over Experience at QB for Oklahoma

WATCH: Oklahoma QB Commit Michael Hawkins Evaluation

Oklahoma National Signing Day Player Profile: Michael Hawkins Jr.

As Oklahoma Prepares for Class of 2024, Brent Venables Has Been Quite Busy

Spring Preview: Oklahoma Has Clarity at QB, But Plenty of Inexperience, Too

WATCH: Oklahoma 2024 QB Commit Michael Hawkins Highlights

WATCH: Former Oklahoma DB Mike Hawkins Sr. Talks About His Son's Commitment to OU

Oklahoma QB Commit Michael Hawkins Competes at Elite 11

WATCH: Oklahoma 2024 QB Commit Michael Hawkins Interview

BREAKING: Oklahoma Lands 4-Star Legacy Quarterback

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John E. Hoover

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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