Oklahoma football and quarterback Jackson Arnold struggled in Saturday's 25-15 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in the first half. Sooners head coach Brent Venables opted to bench Arnold after a string of poor play. Michael Hawkins came in and steadied the offense, completing 11-of-18 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. After reviving the offense and bringing the Sooners closer to a win than Arnold could, Venables has named Hawkins as Oklahoma's starting quarterback, according to reporting from Action Network's Brett McMurphy.

Hawkins' escapability also extended plays and contributed to the Sooners' much-needed offense in the fourth quarter. If it weren't for Arnold's mistake-laden first half, the Sooners might have had a chance to win this one.

Venables acknowledged how those early mistakes quickly turned the tide of the game via ESPN's Dave Wilson.

“Really a poor half of football,” Venables said. “So obviously we made a change there. Just felt like we needed to. Gave up 12 points off of turnovers there in the first half.”

Hawkins, a true freshman, was a three-star recruit on 247 Sports out of Frisco Emerson High School in McKinney, Texas. He enrolled in Oklahoma football in January. His father, Mike Hawkins, was a former Sooners cornerback and played in the NFL from 2005 to 2009.

The swift unraveling of the Brent Venables, Oklahoma football

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It was supposed to be Tennessee's offense that got the best of Oklahoma. Unfortunately, poor offensive execution by Jackson Arnold at the hands of a swarming Volunteers' defense put Oklahoma football in an early hole. The Sooners only scored three points before finally finding the end zone with 8:25 remaining in the first quarter.

Brent Venables' decision to run Dillon Gabriel out of Norman this offseason appears to be the first domino derailing the 2024 season. Skip Bayless took to social media to call out Oklahoma's decision to part ways with Gabriel in favor of Arnold.

“I'm told that Dillon Gabriel wanted to stay at Oklahoma for his final year,” Bayless said on X, formerly Twitter. “I have no idea how much Oregon, Phil Knight offered him, but I'm told that Oklahoma said no to Dillon Gabriel because they said yes to Jackson Arnold… Now I've seen Jackson Arnold for four games including tonight's Tennessee game. I don't see any feel for playing the position. I don't see consistent accuracy which can be lethal for a quarterback. I'm starting to think my Oklahoma Sooners made a huge mistake.”

The Sooners don't have much time for a breather as they travel to Auburn this weekend. They then have a bye week that leads into a critical matchup in this year's Red River Rivalry with No. 1 ranked Texas on Saturday, October 12.