With Michael Hawkins' Status as QB1, Oklahoma Doesn't Expect to 'Miss a Beat'

NORMAN — "Last year" has been a common conversation starter amongst Sooner fans over the last nine months. With Oklahoma sitting at No. 7 and 4-0, the conversation has shifted to more about "this year."

Tuesday's announcement of John Mateer's thumb injury and his successful surgery news on Thursday have brought back the dreaded "last year" conversations, but only for a temporary change in the cast of characters.

With the expectation that Mateer will miss some time, the team now looks to Michael Hawkins Jr., who came in around this time last season. The situation was anything but ideal in 2024, yet Hawkins played well at times — winning on the road against Auburn and nearly leading a comeback in OU's bowl game against Navy.

The lows were bad. Blowout losses to Texas and South Carolina led to Hawkins relinquishing the starting position back to Jackson Arnold for the remainder of the regular season. That's why the "last year" conversations are floating around the air. But that's not how Hawkins' teammates or his head coach sees it.

Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins | John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI

"We've been with him forever," Oklahoma receiver Deion Burks said Thursday after practice. "Next man up mentality. We know Mike, we know what he can do. We know what he did last year, but this year is going to be more special. We got the guys around him.

"Not losing a beat."

Not losing a beat has been a common thread with the situation the Sooners found themselves in on Tuesday. Whether it be Brent Venables's faith in his team despite or the team's collective rallying behind Hawkins, this OU team intends to continue on with a positive attitude.

Venables' faith specifically extends to Hawkins' abilities and maturity.

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"I think there's a lot of comfort knowing what it's going to be like taking that first snap," Venables said. "Some of those 'first game jitters' are in the past. The experience he got last year will be beneficial moving forward."

Venables would go on to praise Hawkins' team player mentality and competitiveness, while emphasizing that as a quarterback within the system, Hawkins needs to a good job of "making layups." Again, Venables isn't worried.

"You're not going to win the game on the first play," Venables said. "Don't try and win the game on the first series of the game. Just execute the little details, but he has a maturity about him that he understands those things."

Oklahoma Sooners, Michael Hawkins Jr — Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. carries the ball late in the Sooners' victory over Temple. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Peyton Bowen, who Hawkins will now face every snap of practice as the starter, revealed the team's confidence is just as high with Hawkins as before the injury news on Tuesday.

"We're confident with him (Hawkins)," Bowen said. "We never wavered when we got told the news. We said 'Alright Mike, it's your time to shine.'

"I think that with the new staff we got and the new quarterback coaching we have, he's really developed really well.