NORMAN — As the transfer portal chaos continues at Oklahoma, there's one player who remains completely unbothered.
Michael Hawkins.
The true freshman quarterback reiterated his commitment to the Sooners and made it clear he's not looking elsewhere.
"I'm gonna be at Oklahoma," Hawkins said on Friday. "This is where I want to be. I want to play at Oklahoma, be the quarterback at Oklahoma."
That's a big deal for Oklahoma, particularly as the portal has created some instability with the roster.
Over 20 players have entered for the Sooners since the portal opened on Monday, and more are likely coming as the Sooners' quest to trim their roster to 105 continues. That includes significant departures at quarterback, as Jackson Arnold and Brendan Zurbrugg have both entered the portal in search of greener pastures. Arnold committed to Auburn on Saturday.
With Casey Thompson exhausting his eligibility at the end of this season, that leaves the Sooners with just two scholarship quarterbacks heading into next season — Hawkins and new high school signee Jett Niu. That has put some pressure on the Sooners to land at least one quarterback in the portal.
The buzz around Washington State quarterback John Mateer continues to grow, particularly since the Sooners hired ex-Cougars offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. But Hawkins remains unfazed by the noise — in fact, he welcomes it.
"I love it. I love competition," Hawkins said. "I feel like that's how it should be. I don't think that it should be no other way. So, I'm all about competition. I think we need another guy here. I'm ready."
Hawkins has a huge opportunity to further solidify his case as the starter moving forward later this month. With Arnold heading to Auburn, Hawkins will be the Sooners' starting quarterback against Navy for the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 27. It'll be Hawkins' fourth career start and sixth appearance this season.
The bowl game isn't far from the first chance Hawkins has had to showcase his potential. Hawkins overtook Arnold in Week 4 against Tennessee and started the next three games. Hawkins made several huge plays in the win against Auburn, which included a 48-yard touchdown run, a 6--yard bomb to JJ Hester and a pivotal two-point conversion in OU's six-point win. He finished the game with 230 total yards and a score while completing 10 of 15 passes, as his dual-threat potential was on full display.
However, he struggled in the next two games against Texas and South Carolina. Against the Gamecocks, he committed three turnovers on the Sooners' first three possessions and was eventually benched in favor of Arnold. Hawkins' only action over the final five games was some garbage-time reps in the second half against Maine.
It was the definition of ups and downs for Hawkins in his true freshman season, but there was a lot to learn.
"It was great. A lot of learning opportunities," Hawkins said. "For me, I feel like I've grown so much from that (South Carolina) game and just the whole season, regardless of what happened and the good times. I feel like I've learned a lot and developed myself more."
The Navy game will present a new challenge for Hawkins. With six wide receivers hitting the portal, the Sooners could have just four scholarship wide receivers available for the game — and they're all true freshmen.
Combine that with the chaos of the transfer portal, and the noise surrounding OU's quarterback room, there's a lot for Hawkins to sort through. But he's ready for the opportunity to prove he can be the next quarterback for the Sooners.
"It's been pretty good. It's also been pretty wild with everything going on," Hawkins said. "But I feel like the guys we have here focusing in on the game plan, trying to get this win and close out the season.
"I feel like this bowl game can help me, so I feel like that's a big step."
