Oklahoma Spring Depth Chart Preview: QB Competition Will Be Fun to Watch

Oklahoma opened spring practice Thursday, and Year 4 under Brent Venables needs to be a good one.

After going 6-7 in two of his first three seasons, Venables’ tenure as the Sooners’ head coach is in the spotlight more than ever. The Sooners wrap up spring practice on April 12.

In this series, Sooners On SI previews OU’s 2025 spring by breaking down the depth chart at each position. Wrapping it up: quarterbacks.

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NORMAN — Oklahoma’s quarterback competition will be fun to watch this spring.

There won’t be a ton of reps to pass around. But then again, waste not, want not.

Washington State transfer John Mateer and returning sophomore Michael Hawkins are going head to head for the starting job next season. As competitive as both guys are, neither one will back down.

Odds are good that Mateer will win the job. He has some built-in advantages.

But odds are probably even better that Hawkins won’t run away if Mateer does emerge as the Sooners’ starter. Hawkins feels engrained in the program, and the program feels engrained in him.

Another element that makes this position battle even more compelling is that there will be very little wasted motion this spring. The third-stringer is, for now, true freshman Jett Niu, a last-minute addition to the recruiting class and, at 5-10, 197, a bit of an undersized project. The third-stringer would normally be Cole Gonzales, a three-year starter and transfer from Western Carolina, but he’s coming back from a hip injury last fall and won’t be fully available this spring.

So in any team practice situations or live scrimmages, it’ll be Mateer taking snaps, or it’ll be Hawkins.

Hawkins has deep familiarity with his teammates, his coaches and the program.

As a true freshman out of Emerson High School in Frisco, TX, last season, Hawkins spent last spring and preseason camp as Jackson Arnold’s backup. Arnold, a former 5-star quarterback who inherited the job after Dillon Gabriel went to Oregon, didn’t really win the position so much as he just kind of moved into it. That Arnold wasn't really developed after Jeff Lebby left for the Mississippi State head coaching job set the position back last year as well.

With Jackson having very little game experience under his college belt, Hawkins was inspired to keep competing and keep fighting for his playing time.

As Arnold’s performances became more and more unpredictable and his production was more and more shaky, Hawkins was called upon to come in and get the offense moving. After Arnold committed three catastrophic turnovers against Tennessee, Hawkins entered and led the Sooners to their only touchdowns against the Vols in the fourth quarter.

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

The following week, he led his teammates on the road at Auburn and guided the program to its first-ever SEC victory. Hawkins shocked the Tigers in the first quarter with a 48-yard touchdown run and then in the fourth quarter delivered a game-changing 60-yard touchdown pass. He was the first true freshman Sooner QB to get his first win in a road game.

The multitalented Hawkins became OU’s first true freshman quarterback to start against Texas, where he was 19-of-30 for 148 yards and rushed for 27 yards as the offense gained just 237 yards against the No. 1-ranked Longhorns in a 34-3 loss.

But a week later, after a 35-9 loss at home to South Carolina, offensive coordinator and QB coach Seth Littrell was fired and Hawkins was demoted. Hawkins committed three turnovers on the Sooners’ first three drives, and the Gamecocks converted all three into easy touchdowns.

After that disaster, Hawkins got in for 21 snaps as a backup against Maine, but didn’t play again until the Armed Forces Bowl, after Arnold hit the portal and landed at Auburn.

Against Navy, Hawkins was back on his game, completing 28-of-48 passes (65 percent) for 247 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and also leading the Sooners with 61 yards rushing on 17 carries. After leading his team on a long touchdown drive in the final seconds, Hawkins’ had a chance to win the game but was sacked on a 2-point conversion. OU lost 21-20, scoring twice early and once late but not doing anything offensively in between.

“He was really good and had great rhythm early and late,” head coach Brent Venables said after the game. “The rhythm was affected with several drops. We had the penalty on the one drive. We didn't convert a couple of fourth downs that we've got to convert in order to win. We had another really good drive, we missed the field goal. We had several drives where we moved the ball.”

Hawkins now finds himself with a new quarterback coach, a new offensive coordinator, and a new competitor in Mateer, and will proceed like he always does as he learns a new offense.

Ironically, he’ll be doing some of that learning from Mateer, who mastered Ben Arbuckle’s offense as a lethal dual-threat QB. Arbuckle is now coaching OU quarterbacks and calling plays for Venables’ offense, and he’s assisted by John Kuceyeski, who also worked with Mateer and Arbuckle in Pullman.

Last year, in his third season at Washington State, Mateer became a superstar by leading the nation in total touchdowns (44) and points responsible for (22.3 per game) and ranking fifth nationally in total offense (330.4 yards per game).

Mateer understudied for two seasons behind Cam Ward, who transferred last year to Miami, became a Heisman finalist and is a candidate to be taken No. 1 overall in this year’s NFL Draft. When Mateer got his opportunity, he made the most of it.

“People say I have swag. I mean, just playing football,” Mateer said Wednesday. “I have the ball in my hand every play. If I get the opportunity to do something with it, the camera’s on me all the time, so I guess I have swag. Some people say I have toughness. I feel like I have an obligation to give everything I have for my teammates.”

“I think he’s got great competitive maturity to him and competitive toughness,” Venables said. “He’s consistent. He likes the locker room. He’s a football junkie, a gym rat. He’s up at the facility nonstop.”

Niu and Gonzales seem like good insurance policies for 2025 and beyond.

Gonzales is the son of Florida Gators wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales and was a tremendously accomplished quarterback on the FCS level at Western Carolina.

More Oklahoma Spring Depth Chart Previews

(Follow these links to catch up)
Defensive Back
Wide Receiver
Linebacker
Running Back
Defensive Line
Offensive Line
Tight End
Special Teams
Quarterbacks

He started four games as a true freshman and was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team. In 2023 he was the league’s Offensive Player of the Year and emerged as a finalist fort the Walter Payton Award as the top FCS player in the nation. Gonzales was a Payton Award finalist again in 2024 and started eight games before the hip injury knocked him out the final month of the season.

In his three seasons with the Catamounts, Gonzales completed 64 percent of his passes and threw for 6,682 yards with 51 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. He said the offense WCU ran is very similar to Arbuckle’s, so once he gets back from the injury, Gonzales could expect to take over as No. 3 very soon.

Niu was recruited by Arbuckle at Washington State out of Salt Lake City. Arbuckle offered him as a Cougar, but Niu had previously verbally committed to play at Oklahoma State. However, when Arbuckle took the OU job and re-engaged with Niu, Niu jumped at the chance to come to Norman.

“I just feel like there's more opportunity for me over here,” Niu told Sooners On SI, “and I know that as I can keep working hard and eventually just — I mean, my whole goal is really to make it to the (NFL). And I know there's been multiple quarterbacks that have came from Oklahoma that are still in the league right now.”

“He’s a really skilled, developed quarterback,” Venables said of Niu in December. “He’s got a great frame, will continue to put some weight on him but his mechanics and fundamentals are exceptional, the way he climbs the pocket, his accuracy, his ability to push the ball down field, his instincts. Incredible quickness in his release and great communication, leadership qualities.”