michael hawkins – Syndication Server

QB Jackson Arnold expected to enter transfer portal per report

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold expected to hit the transfer portal per report.

Oklahoma quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] intends to enter the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag], according to a report from CBS Sports/247Sports Matt Zenitz.

The 2024 season didn’t go as planned for the Oklahoma Sooners on the offensive side of the ball. Injuries at wide receiver and along the offensive line and the relative inexperience and talent deficiency that came with that put a damper on what had a chance to be a good offense for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Arnold, was left to try to pick up the pieces of the offense. It was a rough season for the former Gatorade National Player of the Year, who struggled with turnovers and, at times, indecision as a passer. Arnold was benched in the first half of the loss to Tennessee after three turnovers in the first half.

He regained the starting job after a solid performance against South Carolina in relief of Michael Hawkins Jr., but could never put it together as a passer given the circumstances.

Still, he had some really good moments, particularly the win over Alabama, where he showed his toughness and running ability to lead the Sooners to the top 10 win.

Oklahoma’s struggles went well beyond the quarterback position, but with turnover at offensive coordinator, there was a chance you’d see some turnover at quarterback this offseason.

Arnold finished the 2024 season completing 62.6% of his passes for 1,421 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also added 444 rushing yards and three touchdowns, highlighting his dual-threat ability.

Though there are more experienced quarterbacks in the transfer portal market, Arnold will have plenty of suitors. He’s got big-time ability and given the right situation, could have a resurgent year in 2025.

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4-star cornerback Maliek Hawkins signs with Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma Sooners add four-star cornerback prospect during the early signing period.

The Oklahoma Sooners earned a signature from another high-upside cornerback in the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag] as [autotag]Maliek Hawkins[/autotag] signed with OU during the [autotag]early signing period[/autotag].

Maliek is the younger brother of quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag] and son of former defensive back Mike Hawkins, who played for Brent Venables in the early 2000s.

He’s got great size for the position at 6-foot-1 and displays great change of direction ability, necessary when covering wide receivers in the open field. But he isn’t simply an athlete, Maliek Hawkins is aggressive at the point of attack, bringing a physicality on the outside. – Bryant Crews, Sooners Wire

He also had offers from Texas, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Indiana, and Texas State. Maliek’s offer list may be small, but it’s not reflective of the type of player he is and the potential he has.

He’s a physical corner with the footwork to mirror wide receivers and the quickness and agility to stay with them in and out of their breaks. The Sooners landed one of the more underrated prospects in the 2025 recruiting class with the signing of Maliek Hawkins.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDKHyM5x492/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Film

Hudl

Rating

	Stars	Overall	Position	State
ESPN	3	—	89	142
Rivals	4	—	30	42
247Sports	3	—	88	138
247 Composite	3	571	47	80
On3 Recruiting	3	—	90	132
On3 Industry	3	683	68	94

Vitals

Hometown	Frisco, Texas
Projected Position	Cornerback
Height	6-1
Weight	180 pounds

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3 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners win over the Auburn Tigers

If the Oklahoma Sooners are going to beat Auburn, they must do these three things.

The Oklahoma Sooners (3-1, 0-1 SEC) took a tough loss last week against a good Tennessee Volunteers team. There were some good moments on both sides of the ball, and [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and his crew are hoping to build on the good and correct what went wrong as they go on the road to face the Auburn Tigers (2-2, 0-1 SEC).

The Sooners come into the game riding a defense that is allowing just 14.8 points per game, which ranks 26th in the nation. They’re 28th in the nation in yardage allowed: 284.8 yards per game.

Though Auburn has turned the ball over a bunch, it has playmakers on offense that can threaten the Sooners’ defense.

In a reversal of fortune, it’s the Oklahoma offense that’s struggling. However, it is hoping for better production and ball security as it turns to true freshman quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr[/autotag].

Given the Oklahoma Sooners schedule the rest of the way, this feels like a must-win football game. What does Oklahoma need to do to win on the road in the unfriendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium? Here are three keys to the game.

More: Sooners Wire Staff Predicts Oklahoma vs. Auburn

Up Next: Keys to the Game

Pages: 1234

Brent Venables believes Michael Hawkins has ‘the right stuff’ to be successful for the Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners believe Michael Hawkins has what it takes to lead OU into matchup with Auburn.

The Oklahoma Sooners made a tough call at the quarterback position in their loss to Tennessee. [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag]’s three turnovers didn’t leave them a whole lot of choice. The Sooners turned to true freshman quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag], who will start this week for the Sooners.

Hawkins rewarded the Sooners with a pair of touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to give Oklahoma a little hope down the stretch. Brent Venables wasted little time naming Hawkins the starting quarterback this week against the Auburn Tigers. The Sooners’ coaching staff believes he gives them the best chance to find more consistency and production on offense.

Instead of going into this week with a quarterback competition, the Sooners’ brain trust saw enough in Saturday’s loss to Tennessee to feel comfortable with Hawkins.

“Maybe this will give us a better chance moving forward,” Venables said of making the switch to Hawkins. “Believe in Mike. Made that announcement for lots of reasons. Certainly didn’t want a decision like that to hang over anyone’s head. We’ve gotta get better. Sometimes, maybe change is good.”

Change, for change’s sake, wasn’t the goal. They had a comfort level with Hawkins after watching him for the last nine months in practice, in workouts and in meeting rooms. And his play supported the buzz we’d heard during all offseason.

“He’s a very talented guy, not a really experienced guy, but he has certainly shown that he’s got the right stuff to do it at different times since he’s been here,” Venables said during his Tuesday press conference.

No, Michael Hawkins doesn’t have a lot of experience, but what he lacks in experience, he makes up for with grit, determination, and an unwavering mindset. Beyond his immense physical talent, Hawkins made believers out of Kirk Herbstreit and a large portion of the fan base with his willingness to put it all on the line in the fourth quarter.

He was unfazed by the situation he was thrust into. As the game wore on, he became more comfortable with what he was asked to do. By the end, the broadcast crew, those in attendance, and those watching at home knew who the Sooners starting quarterback should be. And it didn’t take the Sooners coaching staff long to name their starting quarterback for Auburn.

While it was only a little more than a half of action, Hawkins showed off his potential, leading Oklahoma’s only two touchdown drives of the evening against a good Tennessee Volunteers defense.

It’s another tough spot this week for the true freshman quarterback, but he earned the opportunity to start for the Sooners as they make the trip to Auburn. He threw on time and made good decisions with the football. His incredible speed and athleticism will be the focus for a lot of defensive coordinators, but Hawkins showed he could beat a defense through the air.

The Sooners will need Hawkins to build off his strong performance against Tennessee and protect the football against a good Auburn defense. With the will and determination he showed, the Sooners are in good hands ahead of their first road trip of the season.

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Sooners Wire staff predictions for Oklahoma vs. Auburn Tigers

Who did our staff at Sooners Wire predict to win in Oklahoma’s week five matchup with the Auburn Tigers?

The Oklahoma Sooners are in a precarious position as they get ready for their first road trip of the season. After playing five straight to start the year inside the friendly confines of Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, the Sooners take on the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

It’s a place that can be difficult to win in, as are most SEC environments. But the Sooners are hoping a change at quarterback, along with better health along the offensive line, can create a more efficient offense.

Can the Sooners get back on track this week against the Tigers? Here are this week’s Sooners Wire staff predictions.

Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

Oklahoma gets back in the win column with a victory over Auburn on the road, improving to 4-1 heading into the bye week.

OU’s defense stands out again versus a struggling Auburn offense, and the opposing quarterbacks are under duress most of the afternoon. The Sooners improve a bit offensively, as the dual-threat ability of [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag] Jr. helps move the ball down the field a bit better than what we’ve seen so far.

There’s no way everything can get fixed in a week, though, and OU still has major issues along the offensive line, running the football and with injuries at wide receiver. However, Hawkins does enough to keep the starting gig going into the bye and becomes Oklahoma’s first true freshman starting quarterback in the Red River Rivalry against the likely No. 1 Texas Longhorns.

Oklahoma 27, Auburn 14

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Up Next: More Sooners Wire Staff Predictions

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Sooners face rival in latest USA TODAY Sports Bowl Projections

The Oklahoma Sooners fave a rival in USA TODAY Sports updated bowl projections.

The Oklahoma Sooners are hoping to bounce back as they get ready to go on the road to face the Auburn Tigers. The Sooners are coming off a disappointing loss to the Tennessee Volunteers but showed some things they can build on moving forward.

The updated ESPN Matchup Predictor projects the Sooners to finish the season 6-6, would put them just inside bowl season. It’s a difficult schedule the rest of the way, and the Sooners will have to find a way to beat one of the ranked teams remaining on the schedule to ensure a spot in bowl season.

But as things stand right now, college football analysts still have the Sooners bowling in December. Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports has the Oklahoma Sooners heading to Nashville, Tenn., to play in the Music City Bowl. And they’ll face an old rival. Smith projects the Sooners to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Dec. 30.

The Oklahoma Sooners last faced the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a home-and-home in 2021 and 2022. The Sooners won in Norman 23-16, highlighted by D.J. Graham’s one-handed interception. In 2022, Brent Venables’ first season at the helm, the Sooners beat the Cornhuskers 49-10, led by [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag]’s 110 rushing yards and two touchdown performance.

If the two sides were to face off in bowl season, it could be a matchup between a pair of true freshmen quarterbacks, [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag] and Dylan Raiola. Hawkins takes over for Jackson Arnold ahead of the Sooners road trip to Auburn. Raiola was named the starting quarterback out of fall camp.

Raiola has looked good for Nebraska, completing 72.2% of his passes for 967 yards, eight touchdowns, and just two interceptions. Hawkins, in his first season in Norman, is completing 59.1% of his passes for 149 yards and a touchdown.

OU and Nebraska is a rivalry as old as there is. The two sides first played in 1912, a 13-9 win for the Cornhuskers. Oklahoma holds the all-time series lead 47-38-3. A rivalry that was at one point one of the biggest in college football has only seen the two teams play twice since Nebraska joined the Big Ten back in 2011.

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Sooners tumble in updated ESPN Power Rankings after loss to Tennessee

After their loss to Tennessee, the Oklahoma Sooners nearly fell out of ESPN’s updated power rankings.

The Oklahoma Sooners received a rude awakening in their first SEC matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers. The margin of victory is so narrow in the SEC that three first-half turnovers and the failure to capitalize on first-and-goal from the 5-yard line are all it takes for the game to run away from you.

It was a disappointing loss for a Sooners squad that has higher expectations for itself.

After the loss to Tennessee, the Oklahoma Sooners dropped to No. 18 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 21 in the AP Top 25. In ESPN’s updated power rankings, the Sooners held on by a thread, coming in at No. 24.

The Sooners’ offensive frustrations boiled over against Tennessee, with Brent Venables benching Jackson Arnold for freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., but neither quarterback had much time to throw, with the Tennessee pass rush pressuring the Sooners on 49% of dropbacks, according to ESPN Research.

And there was no running game to take any pressure off, with 16 of the Sooners’ 34 rushing attempts gaining zero or negative yards and OU gaining just 222 total yards. The Sooners’ defense held up against the Vols’ acrobatic offense, but it will need help through the Sooners’ first SEC season. – Dave Wilson, ESPN

The quarterback situation became the tip of the iceberg for the Oklahoma Sooners offense that can’t find a running game and a wide receiver room dropping like flies.

Arnold hasn’t been the only issue, but he hasn’t helped the offense with his decision making. He has to be better. Oklahoma hasn’t determined who will be the starter this week, but it’s safe to say there will be a legitimate quarterback competition this week. Hawkins proved capable of making the right reads in the game and taking care of the football. And as long as Oklahoma doesn’t turn the ball over, it has a defense capable of keeping it in games all season.

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Oklahoma Sooners drop five spots in latest AP Top 25 after loss to Tennessee

After their loss to the Tennessee Volunteers, the Oklahoma Sooners dropped five spots in the updated AP Top 25 after week four.

The Oklahoma Sooners are now outside the top 20 in the AP Top 25 after their 25-15 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers. It was a disappointing result, given the build-up to the primetime affair.

The Sooners loss dropped them six spots to No. 21 in the AP Top 25. Oklahoma was No. 18 in the US LBM Coaches Poll following the loss.

The Volunteers moved up to No. 5 with the win, swapping spots with Ole Miss.

The rest of the top five remained the same, with Texas still at No. 1, followed by Georgia, Ohio State, and Alabama.

Of the top six teams in the nation, the Sooners still have to play three of them. And after Saturday night’s game against the Vols, it looks like it could be a long year for the Sooners.

The defense was the lone bright spot until Michael Hawkins helped orchestrate a couple of late touchdown drives.

Heading to Auburn to face the Tigers in week five, the Sooners have a chance to right the ship. A loss could see them drop out of the top 25 in both major polls.

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Has Michael Hawkins done enough to earn the start vs. Auburn?

The Oklahoma Sooners have a decision to make at quarterback ahead of their week five matchup with the Auburn Tigers. Is it Michael Hawkins job at this point?

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.

More: SEC power rankings after Week 4

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Oklahoma Sooners drop in latest US LBM Coaches Poll

The Oklahoma Sooners suffered a significant drop in the US LBM Coaches poll after their loss to Tennessee.

The Oklahoma Sooners suffered a disappointing loss at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night. The Sooners’ offense struggled to move the ball for three quarters and couldn’t take advantage of the great opportunities provided by the defense.

During the game, the Sooners went to true freshman quarterback [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag]. He settled in by the fourth quarter and led the Sooners on a pair of touchdown drives to give the Sooners a chance. But Hawkins and the Sooners couldn’t dig their way out.

In the wake of their first loss of the season, the Sooners fell five spots in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll to No. 18 in the nation. Michigan, LSU, Notre Dame, and Clemson made significant moves to go ahead of the Sooners. Oklahoma sits just behind USC at No. 16 and Louisville at No. 17.

The top five remained the same from last week, with the Georgia Bulldogs holding onto the top spot while on a bye week. They’re followed by the Texas Longhorns, Ohio State Buckeyes, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Ole Miss Rebels.

The Tennesse Volunteers, who picked up a pivotal road win in SEC play, moved up to No. 6 in the nation, jumping the Oregon Ducks.

Ranking	Team	Record	Points
1	Georgia Bulldogs	3-0	1,350 (35)
2	Texas Longhorns	4-0	1,324 (18)
3	Ohio State Buckeyes	3-0	1,279 (2)
4	Alabama Crimson Tide	3-0	1,185
5	Ole Miss Rebels	4-0	1,145
6	Tennessee Volunteers	4-0	1,094
7	Oregon Ducks	3-0	1,016
8	Penn State Nittany Lions	3-0	967
9	Miami Hurricanes	4-0	912
10	Utah Utes	4-0	904
11	Missouri Tigers	4-0	887
12	Michigan Wolverines	3-1	692
13	LSU Tigers	3-1	632
14	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	3-1	553
15	Clemson Tigers	2-1	542
16	USC Trojans	2-1	520
17	Louisville Cardinals	3-0	509
18	Oklahoma Sooners	3-1	404
19	Iowa State Cyclones	3-0	386
20	Oklahoma State Cowboys	3-1	326
21	Illinois Fighting Illini	4-0	307
22	BYU Cougars	4-0	167
23	UNLV Rebels	3-0	124
24	Texas A&M Aggies	3-1	119
25	Kansas State Wildcats	3-1	116

Schools Dropped Out

No. 22 Nebraska; No. 23 Memphis;

Others Receiving Votes

Washington State 94; Indiana 67; Pittsburgh 50; Boise State 42; UCF 35; Iowa 34; Arizona 16; Boston College 15; Duke 14; James Madison 13; Nebraska 7; Washington 6; Rutgers 5; Colorado 5; SMU 4; South Carolina 2; Navy 2; Liberty 2; Arkansas 2;

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