After Oklahoma moved on from [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] to chart their course with [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] at the helm, the Sooners have a quarterback conundrum just four games into the 2024 season.
Though Arnold has had promising moments, his three first-half turnovers on Saturday left the coaches with no choice. On the final drive before halftime, the Sooners went to Michael Hawkins and let him finish the game.
It took a minute for Hawkins to settle in. The Sooners punted on all three of their possessions in the third quarter, but Hawkins found his footing in the fourth quarter, helping the Oklahoma Sooners score touchdowns on two of their final three drives.
It wasn’t a perfect outing, but Hawkins showed greater comfort, even when under pressure, than Arnold had been during the game. In his two-plus quarters of work, Hawkins was 11 of 18 for 132 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 22 yards on 12 carries, leading the Sooners in rushing.
“He’s a tremendous athlete. There were several times there where we had edge pressure that we didn’t block and he got outside of,” Venables said of Hawkins after the game. “So, he has some playmaking ability. He can hurt you with his legs, but also, that can’t be your game. We did have some drives where we got into a nice rhythm, and he showed that he could make some plays.”
The Sooners haven’t decided who will start Saturday against Auburn, but you have to imagine Hawkins has earned a long look and some first-team reps this week.
“Figure out who the best guy is to help us get to No. 4, find our fourth win,” Venables said.
With the offensive line still playing inconsistently and not creating much in the running game, going with the faster and more athletic Michael Hawkins may be more of what this team needs moving forward. With the way he played in relief of Arnold on Saturday evening, Hawkins has earned an opportunity to start for the Sooners. We’ll see if the coaching staff comes to the same conclusion this week in practice.
For now, we have a quarterback controversy on our hands.
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