Oklahoma is making a quarterback change.
Sooners coach Brent Venables announced that true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. will start at quarterback on Saturday against Auburn over sophomore Jackson Arnold.
Venables made the announcement on his weekly radio show “Sooner Sports Talk” on Monday night.
Arnold, a former five-star recruit and one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2023 class, was benched during Oklahoma’s 25-15 loss to Tennessee on Saturday night. He entered the season as the starter after Dillon Gabriel transferred to Oregon in the offseason. Expectations coming into the season were high for Arnold, who was viewed as potentially the next great OU quarterback.
Through four games this season, Arnold completed 59.8 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. According to TruMedia, Arnold’s passer rating (120.9) is 99th in the FBS and his yards per attempt (5.3) ranks 124th. Arnold was 7-of-16 passing for 54 yards and an interception when he was benched for Hawkins and didn’t return until late in the fourth quarter.
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Hawkins gave the Sooners’ offense a boost upon entering and went 11-of-18 passing for 132 yards and a touchdown. After Saturday’s game, Venables offered praise for Hawkins’ performance but acknowledged his inexperience.
“He’s confident. He’s loose in the right ways. The moment’s not going to overwhelm him,” Venables said. “Things happen fast. … 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.
“But he’s a great competitor, got a tremendous amount of talent, and he cares. There’s a lot that you really have an appreciation for Mike about.”
Asked if the offense has to change for Hawkins as he makes his first start, Venables said on Monday night that it’s the “same offense” but that it has to be better at more than just quarterback.
“We’ve got to be better in every way,” Venables said. “We’ve got to be centered toward what these players can execute and do it at a high level, keep people off balance, have good play design, good play sequencing, all of those things are really important.
“Both Jackson and Mike are very similar in some ways and there’s a few differences. But they’re both mobile guys and have got really good arm talent.”
(Photo of Michael Hawkins Jr.: Bryan Terry /The Oklahoman / USA Today via Imagn Images)
