QB Michael Hawkins Jr. 'Wants to be at Oklahoma' Well Beyond the Armed Forces Bowl

The freshman quarterback was firm in his commitment to staying in Norman to play for new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.

Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. / John Reed-Imagn Images

NORMAN — Michael Hawkins Jr. isn’t going anywhere. 

The freshman quarterback is in line to start Oklahoma’s bowl game against Navy after Jackson Arnold hit the transfer portal. 

But his Dec. 27 showing in the Armed Forces Bowl won’t be the last time he dons the crimson and cream.

"I'm gonna be at Oklahoma,” Hawkins said on Friday. “This is where I want to be, I want to play at Oklahoma, be the quarterback at Oklahoma so I feel like this bowl game can help me so I feel like that's a big step."

In 2025, Hawkins will take the field alongside his brother, Maliek, who signed with the Sooners last week as a highly-rated defensive back. 

Hawkins got key experience in 2024.

He replaced Arnold after the OU starter turned the ball over three times against Tennesse, and led the Sooners to victory in the program’s first-ever SEC road game at Auburn. 

He then became the first true freshman to ever start at quarterback for Oklahoma against Texas before a three turnover performance saw him get replaced against South Carolina. 

Arnold started the rest of the year, but Hawkins finished 2024 completing 48-of-77 passes (62.3 percent) for 536 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also rushed the ball 52 times for 143 total yards and a score, though he had plenty of rushing yards wiped away due to sacks.

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The South Carolina showing was the low point for OU’s offensive line. Hawkins was under fire from the first snap of the game, and the play up front didn’t improve for Arnold the rest of the afternoon either. 

That loss spurred Brent Venables to dismiss Seth Littrell and promote Joe Jon Finley to play caller and analyst Kevin Johns to quarterbacks coach. 

Hawkins didn’t get a chance to display his growth after he began working with Johns more closely, but he feels he made great strides through the back half of the 2024 regular season. 

“I feel like I've grown so much from that (South Carolina) game and just the whole season, regardless of what happened and the good times,” Hawkins said. “I feel like I've learned a lot and developed myself more.

“… (Coach Johns) helped me with my feet, getting more calm and my eyes so I feel like he's a big part of why I've grown so much so far."

With Arnold and backup Brendan Zurbrugg in the portal and Casey Thompson set to graduate out of the program after the bowl game, only Hawkins and 2025 signee Jett Niu are currently set to populate the quarterback room next season. 

That’s a situation that will obviously have to change. 

“We can’t go into next year with two quarterbacks. I think that goes without saying,” Venables said. “We got some work to do to get that room where it needs to be so it can compete in the SEC. So, we’ve been diligently doing that.”

Washington State quarterback John Mateer has yet to enter the transfer portal, but if he did, the Sooners would certainly like to add him to reunite him with OU’s new offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle.

That sort of competition, regardless of if the new quarterback addition is Mateer or somebody else, won’t phase Hawkins. 

"I love it. I love competition. I feel like that's how it should be,” Hawkins said. “I don't think that it should be no other way. So, I'm all about competition. I think we need another guy here. I'm ready."

For now, Hawkins has his head down preparing for the Armed Forces Bowl, something he’s excelled at so far. 

“Mike’s looked good,” said Venables, “and we love where he’s at and the progress he’s made.”