Tag: Casey Thompson

How did Michael Hawkins Jr. ascend to start for the Oklahoma Sooners?

How did Michael Hawkins Jr. ascend to start for the Oklahoma Sooners?

The Oklahoma Sooners made a quarterback switch just four weeks into the 2024 season. Sophomore [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] had been the heir apparent to the departed Dillon Gabriel, but after a shaky first three games, Arnold looked overwhelmed in OU’s loss to Tennessee. During the offseason, the talk was about getting Arnold developed, but a month into the season, the narrative changed drastically. Some of that is on Arnold, but a lot of it isn’t.

However, three first half turnovers from Arnold in week four forced head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] to pull his starter and insert freshman [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] into the game. The youngster settled in against the Volunteers and moved the ball in the late stages of the game, earning his first career start against Auburn the following week.

Though Hawkins’ stats against Auburn weren’t anything to write home about, he was impressive in the face of pressure and made big-time plays, serving as one of the undeniable heroes of OU’s comeback road win. He’s done more than enough to stay as the starter for next week’s game against Texas, and if he continues to play well, take care of the ball, and develop, he’ll likely be the guy for the rest of the season.

But who is Michael Hawkins Jr.?

Everyone expected he’d be Arnold’s backup for at least the next two seasons, but his time in the spotlight has come early. He has an opportunity to start a lot of games in Norman over the next few years if he can help turn this offense around in the lion’s den of the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

Hawkins’ father, Michael Sr., played cornerback at Oklahoma in 2002 before leaving to play for the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2005 as a fifth-round selection. He also played for the Browns, Vikings, Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Raiders from 2006 to 2009.

Michael Jr. played at Allen High School, the former home of Kyler Murray. For his senior season, Hawkins switched to Frisco Emerson High School, leading his team on a deep playoff run in 2023. According to MaxPreps, during his senior season, he accounted for 3,039 passing yards with 41 touchdowns through the air and 1,192 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns on the ground.

As a star at both schools, he earned a four-star ranking from 247Sports Composite. He held notable offers from schools like Alabama, Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, TCU, and Missouri but committed to OU on April 8th, 2023. His decision came down to the Sooners and the hometown Horned Frogs (after Kendal Briles made the move to Fort Worth), but his dad’s alma mater won out in the end. He signed with the Sooners that December and enrolled early in January as a part of the 2024 recruiting class.

Though he committed to play for former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, he never got to be coached by the current head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He stayed committed to new co-offensive coordinators [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag], and arrived on campus in a battle to back up Arnold. Hawkins beat out [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag] to become QB2, offering an intriguing glimpse of the future with his dual-threat capabilities.

In both spring ball and fall camp, there was buzz about Hawkins’ abilities on the practice field.

 

In 2024, Hawkins has completed 62.2% of his passes for 310 yards and a touchdown. He’s also ran for 101 yards and a touchdown. He showed off his big arm on the 60-yard completion to J.J. Hester and his great speed and athleticism during his first six quarters. And as important as that, he’s shown that the moment isn’t too big for him.

The Sooners have a date with the No. 1 team in the nation coming next Saturday, and they’ll need every bit of Hawkins’ abilities to shine on that day in Dallas.

Hawkins will become the first true freshman quarterback to start for Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout and provides a very exciting look ahead to what Sooner Nation hopes to see out of the quarterback position.

Fixing OU’s offensive problems isn’t all on Hawkins’ shoulders, nor should they be. The problems may not be fixable this season or even with the current coordinators. However, if OU can find more consistency in moving the football with some explosive plays mixed in, the country could be in for some trouble.

And it could be Michael Hawkins Jr. who is the face of it all.

Watch: OU Football interviews Michael Hawkins Jr.

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No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners vs. Temple Owls: Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

Sooners Wire Staff predicts Oklahoma vs. Temple Owls.

The Oklahoma Sooners kick off the 2024 college football season on Friday night when they welcome the Temple Owls to Norman. The Sooners come into the contest No. 16 in the nation in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25.

The Sooners are No. 13 in the final SP+ rankings prior to their opener, while Temple ranks No. 132 out of 134 teams in the FBS.

On paper, it’s a mismatch and the Oklahoma Sooners should be able to do whatever they want on the gridiron. This game won’t tell us everything we need to know about Oklahoma, but if they put on a performance similar to their 2023 outing against Arkansas State, then odds are this team will be pretty good in 2024.

Oklahoma is a heavy favorite. Fan Duel has OU as 42.5-point favorites heading into Friday’s opener.

As we will each week of the season, here are the predictions from our staff here at Sooners Wire.

More: SEC week 1 predictions

Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

Oklahoma starts fast in week one, showing off their supreme talent on both sides of the ball against Temple.

[autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]’s debut as OU’s full-time starter at quarterback goes well as he begins the process of getting more comfortable in Seth Littrell’s offense at game speed.

The starters on defense pitch a shutout before the backups give up a fourth-quarter field goal.

As with any first game, there will be things to clean up, but Brent Venables is happy with his team on Saturday morning.

Sooners 59, Owls 3

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Up Next: More Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

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Casey Thompson’s long journey highlighted in Washington Post article

Casey Thompson is battling for Oklahoma’s backup quarterback job.

The quarterback room has changed a lot for the Oklahoma Sooners entering 2024. [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag], [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] and [autotag]Steele Wasel[/autotag] make up the unit this season. They’ll be coached by [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag], who will serve as co-offensive coordinator along with [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag].

As OU enters Year 3 of the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] era, the head coach has been hyper-focused on building up every part of the roster. He found what could be a key walk-on transfer in a veteran journeyman who has been all over the college football map.

Ideally, a backup quarterback isn’t something that is ever a big part of your season. Arnold is the starting quarterback for the Sooners in 2024 and will stay in that role as long as he is healthy enough to do so. If the worst does happen and Arnold falls with injury, Thompson and Hawkins Jr. would be the first options to replace him, with Zurbrugg and Wasel behind them.

While Thompson’s fellow backup quarterbacks are all youngsters (as is the guy playing in front of him) he’s the outlier. Thompson is entering his seventh year of college football and playing for his fourth different school.

It’s part of the reality of the new world of college football. The transfer portal, COVID-years of eligibility, and injury waivers provide the opportunity for players to play six or seven seasons at this level. The Sooners may benefit from Thompson’s final year of eligibility.

The Washington Post’s Kent Babb featured Thompson in a detailed article that dove deeper into the quarterback’s journey.

His father, Charles, was a star QB for the Sooners from 1986-1988, the final three seasons of the [autotag]Barry Switzer[/autotag] era. His older brother Kendal was a backup QB at OU from 2011-2013, before transferring to Utah for the next two seasons. However, Casey chose a different path out of high school, committing to play for the rival Texas Longhorns and head coach Tom Herman.

He spent three seasons as Sam Ehlinger’s backup before replacing him in the 2020 Alamo Bowl. He played under new head coach Steve Sarkisian in 2021, facing off against the Sooners in the fabled [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag] game that season and diced up Alex Grinch’s defense. He helped the Longhorns jump out to a huge first half lead.

But after battling all season with Hudson Card for the starting gig in a 5-7 year, and with Quinn Ewers on the way to Austin in 2022, Thompson transferred to play for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He again met rival Oklahoma in a blowout loss in Lincoln, and his time as a Husker didn’t go as planned.

“Once Casey started the 2022 season as the Cornhuskers’ starting quarterback, the offers poured in,” Babb said “He endorsed a protein doughnut brand, an apparel company, a barbershop. He spent $1,800 on a pair of off-white Air Force 1s, and when a group of high school buddies wanted to go to Austin on a weekend trip, the group stayed in a 10-bedroom mansion. Life was good, but Charles kept issuing warnings. Casey and his two brothers had grown up hearing them almost constantly, the echoes of their father’s trauma reverberating through every stage … In the Huskers’ first game of 2022, Coach Scott Frost opted to try a surprise onside kick against Northwestern. It failed, the first domino that ended in a blown double-digit lead. Two weeks later, Frost got fired, and players were left to flail. Casey got sacked 19 times and says now that he was hit 137 times in six weeks, at various points suffering injuries to a shoulder, a calf, his hip, his left wrist, an AC joint, even his jaw. Thumb surgery had weakened his grip on the ball, and yet another collision damaged nerves in his elbow.”

But that wasn’t the end of the rough season, according to Babb.

“In a game against Illinois, a defender crashed into Casey as he threw a pass, leaving him without feeling in his fingers. He had torn his labrum but, after missing two weeks, returned to the lineup and again played through it. Even running a makeshift attack, behind one of the nation’s worst offensive lines, Casey was among the nation’s most effective passers. Then, more dominoes. Nebraska hired Matt Rhule, the former Baylor and Carolina Panthers coach. A fourth playbook in two years and a fifth offensive coordinator. The winter transfer portal opened, and by the time it closed, 6-foot-4 quarterback Jeff Sims had departed Georgia Tech and was signing with the Cornhuskers. With his shoulder still healing, Casey couldn’t practice all spring. He and Rhule agreed that the new system, based more on power rushing than prolific passing, wasn’t a perfect fit. Though the portal had closed to football players, its gray areas include an exception for players with a new head coach. In April 2023, Casey’s future was again draped in uncertainty. Rhule hadn’t named a starter, but after their conversation, Casey knew the score. The only thing he could be sure of was that, 72 hours after the spring game, the portal would close.”

Thompson’s journey continued, ending up at Florida Atlantic for the 2023 season.

“During his third game, Casey fell to the turf while evading a Clemson defender. The pop in his right knee was the shredding of his ACL, his season finished in the blink of an eye,” Babb said.

After things didn’t go as planned at FAU, he had a decision to make about his future.

“When the NCAA approved his request for a medical exemption, granting him a chance to be a seventh-year college senior, he decided to continue only if one program welcomed him,” Babb said. “It’s the same one that recruited, excommunicated, and eventually forgave his dad. Casey had gone on a winding journey only to wind up back where he started. It had taken him traversing the country and multiple injuries for him to realize that, deep down, it was neither profit nor glory he had been chasing. It was stability. He yearned to belong, as his father does, and remember how it feels to be home.”

Thompson transferred and walked on at OU to batlle true freshman Hawkins Jr. for the back up job behind Arnold and has been rehabbing his injury, missing spring football. However, if his number is called upon in 2024, he could be ending his college football career, helping out his fourth-different team in seven seasons.

This time, it would be one close to home.

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Pair of Oklahoma wide receivers could get more snaps to start the season

Oklahoma’s wide receiver room has the pieces to survive some early-season injuries to veteran players.

The Oklahoma Sooners are a month and a half from beginning the 2024 season, their first in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. Head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] spoke to reporters at [autotag]SEC media days[/autotag] on Tuesday, as OU took its turn at the podium.

The third-year coach addressed local media before taking the stage, updating On3 and SoonerScoop’s George Stoia about players rehabbing from offseason or spring ailments before the Sooners begin preseason fall camp.

Quarterback [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag], offensive lineman [autotag]Geirean Hatchett[/autotag] and cornerback [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag] are cleared and ready to go for August. Another member of the offensive line, [autotag]Troy Everett[/autotag], is ahead of schedule from his spring football injury, and Venables expects him back sooner as opposed to later.

However, two members of Oklahoma’s wide receiver room have a little more uncertainty with fall camp around the corner.

Senior [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag], who was injured in spring ball, is still recovering from a foot fracture. Venables said he didn’t have surgery and is taking it easy at this point. His status will be cleaerr when the week of the first game rolls around.

[autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag] is still on the mend after getting injured in the [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag] in October. Venables is hopeful the deep ball threat will be practicing before Aug. 30, but Anthony hasn’t been cleared yet.

The uncertainty of Farooq and Anthony is nothing to be downplayed, but it’d be even more of a problem most years in the wide receiver room. This year, however, is the exception. The position group is absolutely loaded in 2024.

Though leading receiver [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] is off to the pros, the Sooners have suitable replacements in the slot. [autotag]Deion Burks[/autotag] was a star in the spring after transferring from Purdue and [autotag]Jaquaize Pettaway[/autotag] was a standout in the 2023 recruiting class.

On the outside, if Farooq and/or Anthony miss significant time, two players are ready to step into an even brighter spotlight.

[autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] was a touchdown machine a year ago for the Sooners, making plenty of huge plays in 2023. He was electric, scoring 10 touchdowns and finishing with 798 yards receiving despite not stepping into the starting lineup until Anthony was hurt. He’d be a good bet to start on the outside, especially with the injuries factoring in.

[autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag] also saw more playing time in 2023 when Anthony went down. He came into his own as the season progressed, catching five touchdowns on just 14 receptions. He finished with 375 yards and could have pushed for a starting spot even if the entire receiver room was healthy. These two players, both from Venables’ first recruiting class in 2022, could see plenty of targets especially early in the season.

Behind them, wide receivers coach [autotag]Emmett Jones[/autotag] has [autotag]J.J. Hester[/autotag] and [autotag]Brenan Thompson[/autotag], who could also see an increase in playing time.

Anderson and Gibson are the pair that would benefit the most from more targets coming their way. Both possess tremendous upside. If one or both of them can develop great chemistry with quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], it might be tough to take them off the field, even when the veterans become healthy again.

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Who will be Oklahoma’s backup quarterback in 2024?

Oklahoma has options on the quarterback depth chart behind starter Jackson Arnold.

Backup quarterback is a position few fans or coaches ever want to think about. However, it’s an important role to have decided before going into any season.

The Oklahoma Sooners have zero doubt who their starting quarterback will be in Year 3 of the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] era. [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] was tabbed long ago as the player who would be the face of the Sooners as they left the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] for the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].

The quarterback room as a whole has seen a major reshuffle around the former five-star prospect. Former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] is the head coach at Mississippi State. Former offensive analyst [autotag]Matt Wells[/autotag], who worked with the QBs, is the co-offensive coordinator at Kansas State. Former assistant quarterbacks coach [autotag]Matt Holocek[/autotag] followed Lebby to Starkville.

[autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] were promoted to co-offensive coordinators to replace Lebby, with Littrell coaching quarterbacks and likely serving as the primary play-caller. Finley will continue to coach tight ends. [autotag]Kevin Johns[/autotag], who was the OC and QBs coach at Duke for the last two seasons, was hired by Venables as an offensive analyst this offseason to replace Wells. Johns has worked under Littrell before and received his coaching start working for former Oklahoma OC and current Tulsa head coach [autotag]Kevin Wilson[/autotag]. [autotag]Jack Lowary[/autotag] and [autotag]Ty Hatcher[/autotag] were hired in December as offensive support staff, and both have worked with QBs.

[autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag], [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] and [autotag]Jacob Switzer[/autotag] left the program via the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] this offseason, leaving Arnold as the only player in the QB room who was here a season ago.

Behind Arnold, Oklahoma has four other quarterbacks on the roster heading into the 2024 season. Veteran transfer [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag], true freshmen [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag], and late transfer enrollee [autotag]Steele Wasel[/autotag] make up the rest of the quarterback unit.

Which of these players has the best chance to be called upon if something happens to Arnold? After all, we saw the situation play out last season when Arnold’s redshirt year was burned because he had to replace Gabriel in the second half of a must-win game against BYU.

Casey Thompson has the experience you look for in a college football backup quarterback. The seventh-year “senior” has made stops at Texas, Nebraska and Florida Atlantic over the past few years. He’s Oklahoma royalty, having seen his father [autotag]Charles Thompson[/autotag] and his older brother [autotag]Kendal Thompson[/autotag] play for the Sooners before him. He joined the program as a walk-on transfer this offseason, and has been recovering from injury, meaning he was unable to participate in spring football.

Michael Hawkins Jr., another Oklahoma legacy, provides the young and uber-talented backup option. The true freshman hails from Frisco Emerson High School in Texas, and he could be the future of the position if he develops over the next two seasons behind Arnold. He’s a dual-threat quarterback, flashing his talent in the [autotag]2024 spring game[/autotag].

Brendan Zurbrugg was the second quarterback the Sooners took in the [autotag]2024 recruiting class[/autotag], and his road to playing time is longer than his fellow true freshman’s. Zurbrugg is from Alliance, Ohio, and will be a depth player this season. He was taken by Oklahoma this year for a reason. He’ll have a chance to show what he has in practice.

Steele Wasel is the newest member of the group, transferring in from Akron in early June. He’ll be the fifth quarterback on the roster this season, and the in-state product will provide depth and a practice arm as a walk-on, getting the opportunity to practice against [autotag]Power Four[/autotag] players in Norman.

Thompson and Hawkins Jr. are the front-runners to serve as Arnold’s backup, but they’re on opposite ends of the experience spectrum. It may depend on the nature or severity of an Arnold injury to see which of them plays. Zurbrugg and Wasel are farther back in the competition, but college football has a way of making the unexpected the reality sometimes.

For instance, if Arnold is injured for part of a game and Littrell needs someone to finish the job, he might go with the steady hand of Thompson to help the Sooners win a close game, especially if it comes in a tough environment. If Arnold’s absence stretches multiple games, the talent and upside of Hawkins Jr. might be the way to go, considering the microscopic margin of error in the SEC. If either of those backups go down, Zurbrugg or Wasel could see an expanded role.

The competition will likely extend throughout fall camp, but Venables, Littrell and Finley need to have an answer at backup QB.

They’ll need to prepare either the experienced Thompson or the young Hawkins Jr. to hold the weight of Sooner Nation on their shoulders if the worst-case scenario happens. While they’re at it, it doesn’t hurt to get Zurbrugg or even Wasel ready to go just in case chaos reigns in 2024.

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Sooners add Akron transfer QB Steele Wasel

OU’s quarterback room grew by one with the addition of Steele Wasel in the transfer portal.

The Oklahoma Sooners football team made another addition via the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] on Saturday, this time at the quarterback position.

OU added [autotag]Steele Wasel[/autotag], who was previously at Akron and was a three-star prospect in the class of 2023, according to Rivals. Wasel is an in-state product, hailing from Choctaw, Oklahoma.

Wasel posted a picture of Sooner legends [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] and [autotag]Kyler Murray[/autotag] on social media with no caption. But multiple sources have confirmed that the former Zip will be returning to his home state.

Wasel entered the portal on May 1 and will have four years of eligibility remaining. He’ll be a preferred walk-on in Norman for [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag], making him the fifth member of a QB room that has changed in a big way this offseason.

Wasel will compete for any reps he can get behind starter [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], and will add to the depth behind the sophomore at the position. [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag], [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] are all either more experienced walk-ons or scholarship quarterbacks that figure to slot in ahead of Wasel on the depth chart.

Wasel was a standout at Choctaw High School, throwing for over 3,000 yards and 38 touchdowns as a senior. He led the Yellowjackets to an 11-2 record in 2022.

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Akron transfer quarterback Steele Wasel crystal balled to Sooners

Oklahoma is the favorite to land Akron transfer Steele Wasel after a Crystal Ball prediction from Sooners Illustrated’s Collin Kennedy.

Oklahoma looks to still be in the process of bolstering its quarterback room. While Jackson Arnold is QB1 as Oklahoma heads into the 2024 season, Oklahoma continues to ensure the depth behind him is sufficient.

The last recruiting cycle saw the Sooners bring in not one but two quarterbacks. [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag], a four-star quarterback and an Oklahoma legacy, is fighting for the backup quarterback role. [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] also joined the Sooners after he shined as the field general for his high school team in Ohio.

To complete the transformation, the Sooners finally saw [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag], son of former Oklahoma quarterback Charles Thompson, join the program as a veteran presence.

Most recently, [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] hit the transfer portal earlier this spring and eventually transferred to the Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks.

That brings us to the latest development in Oklahoma’s quarterback room as the Sooners were projected to land Akron transfer QB Steele Wasel just from Collin Kennedy of Sooners Illustrated and 247Sports.

Wasel is an Oklahoma native from Choctaw. He has a powerful arm and has excellent size for the position, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing over 200 pounds. As a senior at Choctaw High School, he threw for 3,325 yards and 38 touchdowns.

He redshirted this past year at Akron and will still have four years of eligibility remaining.

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Sooners transfer QB General Booty commits to Louisiana-Monroe

Former Oklahoma QB General Booty is headed to Monroe, Louisiana to play for the ULM Warhawks.

[autotag]General Booty[/autotag] will be heading home to continue his college football career. After the former Oklahoma Sooners football quarterback entered the transfer portal on May 3rd, he has found a landing spot at Louisiana-Monroe.

Booty has ties to nearby Shreveport, Louisiana, and Booty is the latest in a long line of football players in his family from the area. His father Abram Booty and uncle Josh Booty both played at LSU, while John David Booty was a quarterback at USC.

Booty announced the move on social media, and he’s found a new home in Monroe after spending two seasons at Oklahoma.

Booty arrived in Norman in the summer of 2022, transferring in from Tyler Junior College, where he passed for 3,410 yards and threw 27 touchdowns. He appeared in just two games as a Sooner, against TCU in 2022 and against Arkansas State in 2023. He had a long touchdown run in the [autotag]2024 Spring Game[/autotag] that may have boosted his stock right before entering the portal.

The General has been a popular figure in college football for the last two years because of his unique name. He parlayed that into a NIL deal with Rock ‘Em Socks and his own personal line of boxers, briefs, and socks.

The departures of Booty and [autotag]Jacob Switzer[/autotag] at the quarterback position this spring have reshuffled the depth chart for [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag]. Sophomore [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] will be the starter with [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag], [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] behind him.

Booty’s commitment to ULM means he’s the latest former Sooner to find a landing spot in the portal. Still looking for a home are Switzer at quarterback, linebackers [autotag]Shane Whitter[/autotag] and Konnor Near, tight end Hayden Bray, kicker Gavin Marshall and punter Redi Mustafaraj.

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Oklahoma Sooners quarterback room will look completely different in 2024

The Sooners have almost completely restacked the quarterback room going into their first season in the SEC.

In early December, Oklahoma’s starting quarterback for the last two seasons, [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], announced he was entering the transfer portal.

Gabriel saw the writing on the wall that it was former five-star [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]’s time to take the reins under center for the Sooners. Gabriel transferred to Oregon to play the final year of his college career.

While Gabriel was certainly OU’s most notable loss in the portal at the QB spot, his was just the first of many departures that have completely reshuffled Oklahoma’s quarterback depth chart.

But let’s start at the beginning. Last season’s quarterback room in Norman consisted of Dillon Gabriel, Jackson Arnold, [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag], [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] and [autotag]Jacob Switzer[/autotag].

Gabriel’s departure wasn’t even the first domino to fall. Former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] was hired to be the head coach at Mississippi State in late November. So, regardless of the portal or recruiting, a different voice was going to call the shots on offense.

[autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] were promoted to co-offensive coordinators. Finley is still serving as the tight ends coach, and Littrell is expected to be the play-caller and quarterbacks coach. Additionally, offensive analyst [autotag]Matt Wells[/autotag], who has experience coaching quarterbacks and as an offensive coordinator, was hired away by Chris Klieman to coach QBs for Kansas State in January.

Arnold stuck with the Sooners after Lebby’s departure. By doing so, ehe stablished himself as the starter until he decides to leave Norman. Seemingly, this was the plan all along.

But the QB room has changed around Arnold. From the coach in charge to the players behind the highly-touted sophomore.

After Lebby took the job in Starkville and Gabriel moved to Eugene, the next exit came courtesy of Beville. The former backup transferred to South Carolina after two seasons at OU.

Switzer, the fifth-string quarterback and grandson of [autotag]Barry Switzer[/autotag], entered the portal in April, having spent only 2023 as a Sooner.

And, finally, first-ballot all-name team Hall of Famer and name, image and likeness legend General Booty, entered the transfer portal on May 5. That leaves Arnold as the only player left from the 2023 quarterback room still on the roster.

Though the departures have changed things, the argument could be made that the Sooners have more talent overall under center than they did in November when the regular season ended.

First, the Sooners added two quarterbacks as part of the 2024 recruiting class: [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] out of Texas and [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag] out of Ohio.

Hawkins is the more highly touted of the two, and has a chance to be the future of the program after Arnold’s time is up. However, Zurbrugg was a very good prospect. He’ll compete for snaps when given the opportunity. Though both are young, they offer potential and talent for the future of the position.

But Littrell needed a veteran backup behind Arnold to offer stability in case of injury, so the Sooners went and picked up [autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag] in the transfer portal by way of FAU.

Thompson is OU royalty by way of (most notably) his father [autotag]Charles Thompson[/autotag] and his older brother [autotag]Kendal Thompson[/autotag]. Casey made stops at Texas and Nebraska before his time at Florida Atlantic. He brings six seasons of college football experience to Oklahoma. He carved up the OU defense in the fabled 2021 Red River Rivalry game, holding his own on a field with two five-star quarterbacks in crimson and cream.

In addition, the Sooners have an extremely strong commitment from [autotag]Kevin Sperry[/autotag] in the 2025 class. He will likely compete with Hawkins Jr. (and possibly Zurbrugg) for the starting spot going into the 2026 season if all goes as [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and the coaching staff think it will.

To recap, we’re just over five months removed from the regular-season finale against TCU, and the quarterback room looks vastly different. As it stands, the Sooners will take Jackson Arnold, Casey Thompson, Michael Hawkins Jr. and Brendan Zurbrugg into the 2024 season.

But this is Jackson Arnold’s time to be the face of Oklahoma Sooners football, an opportunity he’s relished and prepared for for years. He is now the most tenured player in the QB room. It’s one more way that the OU faithful will be counting on him to lead the way in 2024 and beyond.

Fortunately, the reshuffling at the position looks to have been a success from a talent acquisition standpoint and quarterback is a strong point for the Sooners heading into Year 3 of the Venables era and Year 1 in the SEC.

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Quarterback General Booty opts for the transfer portal

Quarterback General Booty set to enter transfer portal.

Oklahoma is still seeing a few players opt for the transfer portal now that spring practice has ended. Earlier this week, wide receiver Gavin Freeman opted for the portal. On Thursday, the Sooners received word that backup quarterback General Booty has entered his name into the NCAA [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag].

Booty signed with Oklahoma in May 2022 after he dominated the competition as a quarterback for Tyler Junior College. He threw for 3,115 yards and 25 touchdowns, ranking second in the NJCAA.

He joined the Sooners  as a depth option, and while his career at Oklahoma didn’t result in him becoming a starter or a notable contributor to games, he provided depth.

The Sooners worked tirelessly to rebuild their quarterback room after the departure of Caleb Williams and Spencer Rattler. Booty was a part of that rebuild. Now the Sooners have rebuilt their room with four talented quarterbacks, led by starter and former five-star Jackson Arnold. [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag] and[autotag]Casey Thompson[/autotag] are still duking it out for the backup spot. [autotag]Brendan Zurbrugg[/autotag], another freshman, gives Oklahoma another developmental player on the depth chart.

Oklahoma will enter the season with these four quarterbacks. Next year, they’ll add four-star quarterback Kevin Sperry to the mix.

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