Oklahoma names Michael Hawkins Jr. starting QB vs. Auburn after benching Jackson Arnold in Tennessee loss

Hawkins showed flashes of promise after entering the game against the Vols in Week 4

No. 21 Oklahoma will start Michael Hawkins Jr. at quarterback on Saturday against Auburn, coach Brent Venables announced on Monday. Hawkins will replace former five-star signal caller Jackson Arnold, who was benched in the second quarter of last weekend’s 25-15 loss to No. 5 Tennessee.

When Oklahoma pulled Arnold against the Vols, he was 7-of-16 passing for 54 yards with an interception. Arnold fumbled on a golden opportunity on first-and-goal at the Tennessee 5-yard line and threw a swing pass that was ruled a lateral and recovered by Tennessee.

Hawkins logged the most substantive action of his young career in the loss. The former three-star quarterback completed 11 of 18 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown while also netting 22 yards on the ground, which made him the Sooners’ leading rusher.

Arnold has long been viewed as the program’s future at quarterback, which was magnified when last year’s starting quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, entered the transfer portal. Arnold was ranked the No. 4 quarterback in the 2023 recruiting cycle by 247Sports behind only Texas’ Arch Manning, Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava and Oregon’s Dante Moore.

OU’s undisputed starter coming into the season, Arnold showed promise in his lone start against Arizona in the Alamo Bowl. Arnold threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns in the 38-24 loss to the Wildcats, but the start of the 2024 season was a different story. Arnold finished with less than 175 passing yards in each of the Sooners’ first three games of the season while completing only 59.8% of his attempts.

Oklahoma will face an Auburn team dealing with similar quarterback issues. The Tigers benched starter Payton Thorne after a slow start to the season and replaced him with backup Hank Brown, who threw three interceptions in a 24-14 loss to Arkansas. After tossing his third interception before halftime, Auburn went back to Throne for the rest of the game.