JUST NOW: OU Sooners New starting QB Michael Hawkins Jr. has been issued and he is band from participating in all sport activities after the match due to….read more
Jovantae Barnes offered prescient words of wisdom to Michael Hawkins Jr. throughout the offseason: You never know when your chance is going to come.
For Hawkins, Oklahoma’s freshman quarterback, that opportunity came shortly before halftime of OU football’s SEC opener against Tennessee last weekend, when he replaced starter Jackson Arnold following a calamitous and error-filled performance against the Vols. Now the former four-star prospect is being given another, bigger opportunity—his first career start.
Brent Venables on Monday evening announced that Hawkins will start at quarterback this weekend when No. 21 Oklahoma (3-1, 0-1 SEC) travels to Auburn (2-2, 0-1) for its first road game of the season.
“Mike will have his opportunity to run out there and be our guy, see where we’re at, try to give us a kickstart,” Venables said on his coaches show Monday. “We haven’t had the consistency of the chemistry that you’d like, the cohesion…. Maybe that can be a catalyst.”
Hawkins provided a spark for the Sooners in relief of Arnold against the Vols last weekend. Arnold committed three first-half turnovers—an interception and two fumbles—as Oklahoma fell behind 19-3 late in the first half after a disastrous second quarter in which OU netted minus-20 yards of offense. Hawkins took over on the final drive before halftime and played the entire second half at quarterback.
