Michael Hawkins' tough road to Oklahoma prepared QB for historic start against No. 1 Texas

Michael Hawkins Jr. chose the hard way. Or, at least in this era of college football, the path that often ends with a trip to the transfer portal and a fresh start somewhere else. If not the path of greatest resistance, then it was the path of least guarantees.

At the time Hawkins committed to the program last April, Oklahoma had signed five-star recruit Jackson Arnold from Denton Guyer and was poised to replace Dillon Gabriel and the Sooners' string of excellent quarterbacks, among them Baker Mayfield and Kyler were included, extending Murray, Jalen Hurts and Caleb Williams.

“Why would you go to Oklahoma?” A college coach asked Hawkins, “They have Jackson there,” according to his father, Mike Hawkins Sr., who played at Oklahoma in 2002.

A fair question, right? Why Oklahoma? Why not somewhere with significantly less competition? Why not in a location that could theoretically provide a quicker route to the field?

Or not.

“That was the worst thing he could have said to Mike,” said Mike Hawkins Sr. “When you hear someone tell you over and over again, 'Why would you go there?' Why would you do that? Why would you do that?' At some point the child will say, 'I'll show you better than I can tell you.'”

Consider it shown.

Hawkins, a freshman from Frisco Emerson, replaced Arnold at quarterback in Oklahoma's loss to nationally ranked Tennessee in Week 4, helped lead the No. 18 Sooners (4-1) to a road win over Auburn in Week 5 and will the first true freshman quarterback ever to start for Oklahoma in the 100-year history of the Red River Rivalry game against No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday in his hometown.

“I have confidence,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said Tuesday during his weekly media presentation. “He's easy to bet on, just in terms of his maturity, his process orientation, consistency, who he is and how he handles difficult moments. He has a lot of really good qualities that maybe sometimes a younger player doesn’t have.”

That led to Hawkins moving up the depth chart for the first time. Arnold – who was named the 2023 Gatorade National Player of the Year at Guyer – began the season as Oklahoma's replacement for Dillon Gabriel, starting the Sooners' first four games. But in the second quarter of Oklahoma's game against Tennessee on Sept. 21, Venables substituted Arnold for Hawkins when the Sooners trailed 19-3 with less than two minutes before halftime.

Hawkins saw limited playing time at the end of Oklahoma's blowout win over Temple in Week 1. His next opportunity came on prime time television against an SEC opponent.

“When you have a guy that can play or is willing to play, you always know it can happen,” said Mike Hawkins Sr., who attends every one of his son’s games. “But at that moment I felt like I couldn't catch my breath. Me and my wife (Anabelle) sat there and I just held my breath. Man, this is really happening.”

Hawkins completed 11 of his 18 pass attempts for 132 yards and a touchdown in Oklahoma's 25-15 loss to the Volunteers. Late in the fourth quarter, he attempted to rush for a touchdown on third-and-goal, but was tackled in mid-air as he tried to throw his body over the goal line. The play was originally ruled a touchdown, but after a review, Hawkins was called for a down at the 1-yard line.

“When the game is on the line, I have no choice,” Hawkins told reporters during Oklahoma’s bye week. “I just try to play for the team and sacrifice my body for them because they do the same for me.”

Venables classified Hawkins as a “playmaker” and acknowledged the need to balance a given game plan without handcuffing Oklahoma's mobile quarterback. Hawkins, a three-star recruit in high school who chose the Sooners over TCU, amassed 7,879 passing yards, 2,266 rushing yards and 107 total touchdowns in three seasons as a varsity starter at Allen and Frisco Emerson. He spent his first three seasons at Allen — Murray's alma mater and five-time state champion — before he and his brother Maliek transferred to Emerson following racist vandalism at the family's Allen home.

“I think what Michael Hawkins does,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday, “he provides the element of, 'They can throw it, they can run it.'” But his first touchdown there against Auburn was a Pass which he tucked, took off and ran. We really have to be careful that it’s in the bag.”

On that touchdown against Auburn: Hawkins fell behind on third-and-5 early in the first quarter, went to the pocket as the Tigers' pass rush came, then outran the secondary for a 48-yard touchdown. He finished Oklahoma's successful road win with 161 passing yards and 69 rushing yards.

“The run he had against Auburn,” said Mike Hawkins Sr. “He’s been doing this since he was 5 or 6 years old in Little League.”

It was here that Hawkins' football-playing father first worked to instill the “QB1” mentality in his son. Mike Hawkins Sr. played one season at Oklahoma in 2002 before leaving college for the Arena Football League and ultimately the NFL draft. Venables served as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach during Hawkins' one-year tenure. Safeties coach Brandon Hall was a graduate assistant on the staff during Mike Hawkins Sr.'s tenure. Jerry Schmidt — the Sooners' director of strength and conditioning — served in a similar role in the early 2000s.

“I said to Mike, 'You've got to win Schmidty over with your hard work and dedication,'” said Mike Hawkins Sr. “And Mike accepted that. It was important to him to do everything he could to win over Schmidty and the guys in the weight room with his way of working.”

Hawkins understood he had to compete for reps and the starting spot at Oklahoma. Former Sooners offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, who left Norman this offseason to coach at Mississippi State, sold Hawkins during his recruiting period on the opportunity to gain playing time with the caveat that nothing was guaranteed. That honesty, Mike Hawkins Sr. said, carried more weight than the often empty promises of a starting day role that other programs had offered.

It also fit with the path the Hawkins had followed for years.

“Those conversations started in high school,” said Mike Hawkins Sr. “When he was in high school, he was working on becoming the starter at the college he was at. That has always been the mindset. That's why I was already prepared when he got there. I played at OU, I knew what the expectations were…that's how we coached and coached him his whole life. It's really no surprise; We always had the plan to train this way and work this way.”

That path led back home to the Cotton Bowl and one of college football's most prestigious rivalries. Mike Hawkins Sr., a freshman at Oklahoma when it beat Texas 35-24 in 2002, brought his son to two or three parts of the game when Hawkins was a child. They might have had more time to attend if Hawkins' youth soccer schedule hadn't been so busy on fall weekends.

It seemed to work quite well.

That was the plan anyway.

“It means a lot,” said Mike Hawkins Jr. “All I know is that I’m going on a big stage. It's the first time that I'm playing in this stadium and against this team. It's a big moment for me. Just try to take advantage of it and maximize the opportunities that come my way.”

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