With the news that John Mateer will be sidelined due to a thumb injury requiring surgery, the Oklahoma Sooners will now turn to Michael Hawkins Jr. to lead their offense. The true sophomore is no stranger to this situation as last season, he stepped in during Week 4 after Jackson Arnold was benched and got his first start in Week 5 against Auburn.
As a true freshman, the former four-star got off to a hot start before things quickly took a turn and he suddenly looked more like the true freshman that was all of the sudden thrown into the fire. In his third start against South Carolina, Hawkins threw two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and also had a fumble that was taken back to the end zone by the Gamecocks defense. All that happening within the first quarter, ultimately led to him heading back to the bench, and Arnold returning as the Sooners’ starting quarterback.
Hawkins was solid in Oklahoma’s bowl game though, throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns while adding 61 yards on the ground. Across the five games in which he either started or played meaningful snaps, Hawkins completed 64% of his passes for 706 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Now with a full year of the college football experience, upgraded weapons around him, and a new offensive coordinator in Ben Arbuckle, I would expect to see a much better version of Hawkins. With Oklahoma on a bye this week and their next game against Kent State, Brent Venables and his staff will have plenty of time to prepare their new starting QB.
Reports indicate Mateer will miss at least three weeks, meaning Hawkins is likely to start in the Red River Rivalry game against Texas. Interestingly, that was one of the games he started in last season, but it was a rough outing in which the Sooners scored just three points and had 237 total yards against the Longhorns’ defense.
While losing a Heisman contender like Mateer is a major blow to an Oklahoma team that had gotten off to the start it hoped for after an active offseason, the Sooners have to feel somewhat comfortable knowing they have a backup with real game experience in Hawkins. It’s also important to note that, while the Sooners offense has been solid so far this year, it’s been the defense that has really shined, and is good enough to keep Oklahoma in any game which will lessen the pressure on Michael Hawkins Jr.
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