Moments before kickoff, Kendall Miller glanced at his sideline, surprised by who he saw.
Emerson High School’s head coach spotted Michael Hawkins Jr., Oklahoma’s true freshman starting quarterback, who made the trip from Norman to Frisco, Texas, to surprise his former team during their most recent game on Oct. 3.
As soon as Hawkins stepped on the field, Miller felt the energy on his team’s sideline shift, much like it would during his playing days with Emerson.
“Here’s somebody that’s on top of the nation, and he’s come back here to cheer on his high school team,” Miller said. “That gave us a spark.”
Spark is the word that could characterize Hawkins’ game-and-a-half as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback. With flips into the end zone and explosive plays, Hawkins has rekindled the Sooners’ stagnant offense.
On Saturday, he’ll become the first OU true freshman quarterback to start in the Red River Rivalry when the No. 18 Sooners (4-1, 1-1 SEC) face No. 1 Texas (5-0, 1-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Dallas. Yet, as Hawkins interacted with players, coaches and staff members after Emerson’s game, he didn’t appear to be nine days away from stepping into Cotton Bowl Stadium for the biggest game of his life.
“We all (noticed) it,” Miller said, “he didn’t look or act any different.”
Alongside Hawkins on Saturday will be an offensive line that’s given up 12 sacks, fourth most in the SEC, and the conference’s worst rushing attack. After Deion Burks was ruled out on Thursday, Oklahoma will be without its five primary wide receivers against the No. 2 pass defense nationally.
On the other side, Texas, the No. 2 scoring defense in college football, has given up the least amount of touchdowns nationally (3). The Longhorns are the country’s 8th best defense on third downs, while the Sooners’ offense ranks 130th of 134 in 3rd down conversions.
Seemingly all possible odds are stacked against Hawkins and the Sooners, who are 15-point underdogs against their rivals.
Yet, those who know Hawkins know better than to count him out.
“I’ve got faith,” head coach Brent Venables said. “He’s an easy guy to bet on.”
Through everything, the true freshman’s calm demeanor hasn’t wavered leading up to his tallest task, which has invoked a sense of confidence in many of his teammates.
“His preparation has stayed the same from when he was in that backup role to (now) in the starting role,” said redshirt senior tight end Jake Roberts. “If he’s nervous, I can’t tell.”
Miller, after seeing a poised Hawkins on his alma mater’s sideline, thought back to last year’s regional final game, when Emerson fell into a 14-0 deficit against Colleyville Heritage, who was 12-1 with one of the premier offenses in the region at the time.
Emerson’s slow start made many on the team panic, excluding Hawkins, who looked over to his coach with words of encouragement.
“Coach, we’re good,” Hawkins told Miller, “I got this.”
“It was the look in his eyes that (assured me),” Miller said, reflecting on the moment preceding Emerson’s 59-48 comeback win. “I don’t know if we punted after that.”
Freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. during the game against Auburn on Sept. 28.
Two weeks ago, while watching Hawkins try to catapult over three defenders to reach the end zone on a two-point conversion, screams from Miller’s family filled his living room. The conversion gave the Sooners a 24-21 fourth-quarter lead over Auburn after trailing the previous two quarters and helped OU close out its first SEC road win.
MICHAEL HAWKINS JR IS ELECTRICSOARING EAGLE FOR THE 2PT CONVERSION AND OKLAHOMA LEADS 24-21 🦅 pic.twitter.com/ZBa8EqXqeJ
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) September 28, 2024
His flip into the end zone against Tennessee certified his desire to win and spot as OU’s starting quarterback moving forward. One week later, his pylon dive against Auburn helped seal a comeback win and added the spark the Sooners’ offense had been missing.
“It hyped everybody up,” senior wide receiver J.J. Hester said. “It gets everybody’s mojo going. … It’s great to have that on the team.”
OU ranks No. 131 nationally with only 13 plays of over 20 yards this season. Five of those have come in the last game-and-a-half under Hawkins, compared to eight that happened in the Sooners’ first three and a half games when sophomore Jackson Arnold was the starter.
Hawkins has already fired up OU’s offense in his short time at the helm, in large part due to the two memorable moments he’s created.
Now he’s entering the Red River Rivalry, the game Baker Mayfield used for his 2017 Heisman moment — a 59-yard game-sealing touchdown pass to Mark Andrews. It’s also where Caleb Williams delivered a 66-yard touchdown run and thrilling 55-48 win in 2021. The then-true freshman had taken over for struggling former five-star Spencer Rattler — sound familiar?
And last year, Cotton Bowl Stadium is where Dillon Gabriel etched his name in OU history by leading a game-winning 75-yard touchdown drive to beat the Longhorns 34-30.
No game has cemented quarterback legacies in Norman like the Red River Rivalry.
Now, Hawkins, against all odds and alongside the offense he’s ignited, has a chance to make his own mark in Oklahoma football history.
“I’ve seen what he’s done when the odds were against him,” Miller said. “If there’s anybody I’d bet on to do it, it’d be him.”
