NORMAN — As Oklahoma's offense has struggled, and as it recovers from a rough loss to Texas over the weekend, Brent Venables has been forced to think about long-term options.

That especially pertains to Jackson Arnold.

The true sophomore quarterback has not played since he was benched in the first half against Tennessee last month, as Michael Hawkins has resumed QB1 duties over the last two and a half games. Venables said he and Arnold have discussed the possibility of a redshirt this season, which would preserve an extra year of eligibility.

"It's been discussed between us," Venables said. "What was told to Jackson, 'We put you in, it's because we need you to help us go win. And we're certainly sensitive to everything. We're not sitting here with our head in the sand or naive to what it is.

"But man, he's a great teammate. He wants to be the starting quarterback at the University of Oklahoma. His focus and his priority is with the team, where he is right now. He's practiced extremely well the last couple of weeks."

Arnold receiving a redshirt is certainly an option, but Venables stopped short of giving a concrete plan. It's a delicate balance for the head coach.

Arnold has already appeared in four games this season, and if he appears in one more game he'll be ineligible for a redshirt. Last season, Arnold was the primary backup quarterback but was thrust into action against BYU in November, which accounted for his fifth appearance of the year and thus made him ineligible for a redshirt.

This season, Arnold was benched after three first-half turnovers against Tennessee, but the offense hasn't improved much with Hawkins at the helm. The true freshman led the Sooners to a come-from-behind victory against Auburn the following week, but the offense accounted for just three points in last weekend's 31-point loss to Texas. The Sooners also had just 136 total yards heading into the fourth quarter.

Venables said the coaching staff did not consider benching Hawkins against Texas, and he confirmed that the true freshman will start this weekend against South Carolina. But it's clear that just because Arnold hasn't played the last two weeks doesn't mean the coaching staff has completely moved on. In fact, Venables said the option of utilizing two quarterbacks in the same game isn't off the table.

"I'm certainly not immune to anything," Venables said. "And I know (former South Carolina head coach) Steve Spurrier did it for his whole career. But that being said, it'd be great if you had one that you could get behind and do the things that are necessary in order to win. And so, I would certainly not put it out of the realm of possibility in the future."

It's clear the Sooners still have a lot to figure out. They're committed to Hawkins moving forward, but there's a lot of pressure on the team heading into Saturday's game (11:45 a.m. CT, ESPN) against South Carolina. The Sooners are 4-2 but just 1-2 in SEC play, and the concerns about the offense have hit a tipping point. With a loss, concerns about becoming bowl eligible would certainly increase given the Sooners' tough remaining schedule. Plus, the Sooners have to consider Arnold's future, and whether it makes sense to redshirt him and remove the possibility of turning back to him at some point this season.

This weekend could provide a lot more clarity for the team moving forward.

"I feel that it’s only right to give Mike the opportunity to be the quarterback and to have a body of work that says he either is or isn’t the right guy, and will he learn from his past mistakes," Venables said. "Every week is a season of its own, as we know. Every opponent’s gonna present different issues and problems. Every week that you play, offense or defense, the kicking game, there’s always some DNA that you’re gonna do that’s always gonna be the same, things you can hang your hat on and you’ve gotta gameplan. So you want to give guys an opportunity to show how well, how quickly they can pick up things and execute them on game day, things of that nature.

"Jackson’s been fantastic, all things considered. Taken it in a really tough-minded way, and he’s ready to play. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t still be here every day."

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