NORMAN — Moments don't get too big for Michael Hawkins. When situations come up, he focuses on staying relaxed and preparing for the next play.

So when the coaches told the true freshman quarterback he was going in to replace Jackson Arnold at quarterback late in the second quarter Saturday, Hawkins was ready.

“Just taking advantage of it," Hawkins said after the game. "Just keep moving forward and when adversity comes, just keep moving forward.”

It wasn't the smoothest start when Hawkins entered the game at the 1:40 mark and the Sooners trailing 19-3. Hawkins had to corral a bad snap on first down, and his first series ended in a three-out.

But in the Sooners' 25-15 loss to the Vols, Hawkins' second-half performance was the lone bright spot in an otherwise miserable day for OU's offense.

It took a moment for Hawkins to find his footing. The OU offense gained just 33 yards and one first down over the first three possessions of the second half, but in the fourth quarter he found his footing. He led the Sooners on a 10-play, 68-yard drive that he capped off with a two-yard touchdown pass to Jovantae Barnes. He had an 11-yard run to the goal line that set up the score, as he showcased his dual-threat ability.

Hawkins opened the Sooners' final drive with a 14-yard connection to Jaquaize Pettaway. The next play, Hawkins found Pettaway for a 47-yard completion with a dart over the middle — the longest play from scrimmage for OU and the only play that went longer than 19 yards.

A few plays later, Hawkins scrambled from two yards out and fought his way to the end zone. He was ruled short after review, but it showed the competitiveness that impressed the coaching staff during the spring and fall camp. It also set up a one-yard touchdown run by Barnes on the following play.

Hawkins finished the game with 154 total yards (132 passing, 22 rushing) on 11 of 18 passing and a touchdown, leading the Sooners on their only two touchdown drives. It wasn't enough to overcome the Vols, but Hawkins' efforts as a freshman were fully on display.

"I love Mike," OU coach Brent Venables said after the game. "He's confident. He’s loose in the right ways. The moment’s not going to overwhelm him, even though again he's a young guy. Things happen fast. Mike gets pretty excited, you saw him. He's three or four steps ahead of the play a few times. That's going to happen too. Certainly got to slow things down and let things develop, there’s that piece of it, but he’s a great competitor, got a tremendous amount of talent, and he cares. There's a lot that you really have an appreciate for Mike about."

Hawkins was also a standout, partly, because the Sooners did nothing on offense in the first half.

Arnold drew his fifth-consecutive start, throwing an interception on the Sooners' third drive of the game. The offense did cap off a 10-play, 55-yard drive with a 37-yard field goal from Tyler Keltner to tie the game at 3-3 and give them 102 total yards heading into the second quarter.

But the second-quarter offense was disastrous. Arnold lost two fumbles in the second quarter alone and both came immediately following defensive takeaways. One of them came after Robert Spears-Jennings forced a fumble at Tennessee's five-yard line, which gave the offense the ball with a chance to take the lead. On the next possession, Barnes was tackled for a safety that gave the Vols a 12-3 lead.

The Sooners totaled -20 yards in the second quarter, with -21 of those yards coming on Arnold's second fumble of the game. That was the last straw, as Venables inserted Hawkins for Arnold.

Hawkins gave the Sooners a spark, but it was still ultimately overshadowed by another lackluster offensive performance. The Sooners ran the ball 34 times for 36 yards, averaged just 3.3 yards per play (2.2 on first downs) and converted just three of 15 third-down attempts. The Sooners finished with 222 total yards, their second-lowest output in a game since 2007, and they scored on just three of 16 drives.

There were a lot of factors, including Tennessee's defense, but it added up to one of the Sooners' most sluggish offensive outings in years.

"Obviously not near good enough," OU offensive coordinator Seth Littrell said. "(We were) just off. At the end of the day you gotta look at yourself first, figure out different things you can do better in different situations in the first half. You’re not gonna win the game turning the ball over three times. Having two great opportunities there (off of takeaways) … we’ve gotta do a better job of making sure we take care of the football, moving the chains, executing. We got to play much better."

The good news for the Sooners is that Hawkins showed he could help the offense, even as the Sooners continue to struggle with injuries on the offensive line and at wide receiver. It wasn't a perfect performance — the Sooners had just 140 total yards — but it appeared the true freshman gave them a sense of direction, and that's huge with OU (3-1) still facing the rest of their SEC schedule.

Venables and Littrell both emphasized there will be a quarterback competition ahead of next weekend's game at Auburn. But for an offense that has mostly struggled this season, it looks like Hawkins could provide a path forward.

"I think he got more comfortable as the game went on," Littrell said. "He’s a tough kid. He’s full of energy. Obviously he can make you right in a lot of different ways. He’s talented not only in being able to extend plays, but extremely live arm and strong in the pocket. He’s a tough kid. Great mentality.

"He’s a guy that we’ve been really excited about, along with Jackson. Jackson has a lot of the same. They’re alike and similar in different ways. Both of them. They’re both young guys that gotta continue to grow up and I’ve gotta do a great job coaching them and putting them in the right situations."

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