Michael Hawkins excited for the opportunity to show his development as a quarterback

Saturday will mark 378 days since Michael Hawkins Jr. was thrown into the fire. The Oklahoma quarterback was just a true freshman when he replaced former Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold at halftime of the Tennessee game. Hawkins went on to start four games last season, including a 27-21 win over Auburn the following week. Now, a year later, Hawkins finds himself in a similar, but also a much better situation. He will be starting Saturday's game against Kent State in place of starter John Mateer, who had surgery last week on his broken throwing hand. It's unclear how long Mateer will be out, but fortunately for OU, it has Hawkins, who is very familiar with stepping in.