What's the plan for quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. this season?
NORMAN — If John Mateer wasn’t clearly the quarterback for Oklahoma entering the season, he certainly solidified it in last Saturday’s win over Michigan. He logged 344 total yards and three touchdowns, including 74 yards and two scores on the ground.
More importantly, the Sooners have showed their willing to utilize Mateer in any way possible to win. So where does that leave Michael Hawkins Jr.?
The backup quarterback has yet to log a snap through two games, including in the Sooners’ 35-3 win over Illinois State in the season opener. Hawkins, a true sophomore, can appear in four games and still maintain his redshirt.
Venables said the Sooners can’t predict if the Sooners will need Hawkins this season, but it’s clear the plan is to redshirt him.
“You’d like to think that you could control that and we certainly could, but we might pigeon-hole ourselves, too,” Venables said. “So we’re preparing him every single week. Look, he’s not going to go in and take 70 or 80 snaps until our hand is forced. We’re not at liberty to, ‘Let’s just get him in for a few snaps here.’ I’m trying to think both short-term and long-term.
“I hate to burn his year unnecessarily, so I think that the course of the season will kind of work itself out, but we’re going to be very mindful not burning his year before we have to.”
The Sooners didn’t get the chance to redshirt Hawkins last season. After starting the season as the backup to Jackson Arnold, Hawkins was inserted into the Tennessee game in Week 4 before starting the Sooners’ three games. Hawkins had already appeared in five games before he was eventually being replaced by Arnold, leaving him without a redshirt.
The Sooners were in a similar situation in 2023 with quarterbacks Jackson Arnold and Dillon Gabriel. The plan was for Arnold to backup Gabriel, but he was inserted into action late in the year against BYU after Gabriel suffered a concussion. That marked Arnold’s fifth appearance, making him ineligible for a redshirt.
This Saturday’s contest against Temple (11 a.m. CT) and Week 6 against Kent State could give the Sooners an opportunity to play Hawkins. But it’s clear with Mateer playing well, the goal is to redshirt Hawkins and only play him meaningful snaps if the plan changes unexpectedly.
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