Oklahoma to 'evaluate' quarterbacks after Jackson Arnold was benched in loss

NORMAN, Okla. – No. 15 Oklahoma has yet to find its stride on offense this season, and during a 25-15 loss to No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday, a frustrated Brent Venables made a change at the quarterback position, benching Jackson Arnold for rookie Michael Hawkins Jr.

The offensive problems derailed Oklahoma's first SEC game, and Venables said after the game that the Sooners (3-1) will “evaluate” the position and “figure out who the best player is to get us to No. 4 and get our fourth win.” The Sooners travel to Auburn next week and then face No. 1 Texas on Oct. 12 after a break.

Arnold, the third-best player in the 2023 ESPN 300, got the job this spring after Dillon Gabriel transferred to Oregon. But he struggled in the first half, completing 7 of 16 passes for 54 passing yards and an interception before the Sooners switched to Hawkins in the second quarter, who completed 11 of 18 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown.

The Sooners' first four drives of the second quarter yielded -28 yards, with Arnold making two fumbles, both on the first play after Tennessee turnovers, including one at the Tennessee six-yard line. On another, after a fumble forced by a Trace Ford sack of Nico Iamaleava, Venables said Arnold misjudged a run-pass option on the following play.

Arnold kept the ball and threw it to the left behind the faceoff line, but the ball bounced off the field, was ruled a fumble, and was recovered by Tennessee's Jakobe Thomas after a loss of 21 yards.

“We come right back and have a lateral behind the line on an RPO that the reader runs all day,” Venables said. “We don't have any backward RPOs.”

The Sooners defense forced a punt on the next drive, but the Volunteers pushed Oklahoma back at the four-yard line. On the next two plays, the Sooners had a false start that pushed them back to the 2, and then Jovantae Barnes was stopped in the end zone for a safety. “That's 12 points in a game like that,” Venables said. “Every point counts. It just didn't feel good. There wasn't enough other evidence that we were going to do well.”

Oklahoma failed to score a first-half touchdown at home for the first time since a 30-13 loss to Notre Dame in 2012, according to ESPN Research, and Arnold was 1 of 6 for 12 yards and an interception on passes of 10 yards or more.

“Really a weak half,” Venables said. “So we obviously made some changes there. We just felt like we had to do that. We gave up 12 points in the first half on turnovers.”

Hawkins, a true freshman from Frisco, Texas, played the rest of the game and admitted he was a little nervous before settling in for his first extended playing time in front of 84,071 fans.

“I felt pretty comfortable getting those drives going and finally scoring points,” said Hawkins, who threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Barnes after a 10-play, 68-yard drive with 8:25 left in the fourth quarter.

He enlivened the Sooners with his legs (he led the Sooners with 22 rushing yards) as Tennessee's pass rush pressured Oklahoma on 49% of their 45 dropbacks, the highest pressure rate the Sooners have allowed in the last five years, according to ESPN Research. Both quarterbacks combined to go 2 of 12 for 14 yards under pressure.

First-year offensive coordinator Seth Littrell shared Venables' frustration after the game, took responsibility for the difficulties and miscommunication and said he would get back to work to find the right solution.

“They're both young (quarterbacks) who still have to grow up,” Littrell said. “I'm looking for a guy who can manage the game, who can play at a high level, and I don't say that about everyone. I'll judge it myself tomorrow. It starts with me.”

Venables said his quarterback just needs to “consistently execute the fundamentals of our offense,” which he said isn't very complicated.

“We have a good enough team to still have a really good year,” said Venables. “We still have a lot of football ahead of us, but we also have a lot of improvement to make. That goes without saying.”