Oklahoma to ‘evaluate’ QB after Jackson Arnold loss

Norman, Okla. — No. 15 Oklahoma has yet to find its offensive footing this season, and in Saturday’s 25-15 loss to No. 6 Tennessee, a frustrated Brent Venables benched Jackson Arnold at quarterback. Freshman Michael Hawkins Jr

Offensive woes sank Oklahoma’s first SEC game, and Venables said after the contest that the Sooners (3-1) are going to “evaluate” the position and “find who’s the best guy to take us to No. 4, win four.” The Sooners travel to Auburn next week then face No. 1 Texas on Oct. 12 after a bye.

Arnold, the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2023 ESPN 300, won the job this spring after Dillon Gabriel transferred to Oregon. But he struggled in the first half, going 7-of-16 with 54 passing yards, and the Sooners switched to Hawkins in the second quarter, who finished 11-of-18 for 132 yards and a touchdown.

The Sooners’ first four drives of the second quarter netted -28 yards and two fumbles by Arnold, both after Tennessee turnovers on the first play, including one at the Volunteers’ 6-yard line. At the other end, after a fumble forced by Trace Ford’s sack of Niko Imaleva, Venables said Arnold misread the run-pass option on the following play.

Arnold kept the ball and threw to his left behind the line of scrimmage, but the ball bounced, was ruled a fumble and was recovered for a 21-yard loss by Tennessee’s Jacoby Thomas.

“We come right back and there’s a lateral behind the line in an RPO that runs it all day,” Venables said. “We have no lagging RPO.”

The Sooners defense forced a punt on the next drive, but the Volunteers pinned Oklahoma at the 4-yard line. The Sooners had a false start that backed them up at the 2, and then Jovante Barnes was stuffed 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 look good. There wasn’t enough evidence that we were going to be OK.”

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 threw an interception. 10 or more yards.

“A really poor half of football,” Venables said. “So obviously we made a change there. Just felt like we needed to. Gave up 12 points off turnovers there in the first half.”

Hawkins, a true freshman from Frisco, Texas, played the rest of the way, conceding to the butterfly during his first extended game in front of 84,071 fans before settling down.

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

He gave the Sooners life with his legs, leading the team with 22 rushing yards, while Tennessee’s pass rush pressured Oklahoma on 49% of its 45 dropbacks, the Sooners’ highest pressure rate in five years, according to ESPN research. Both quarterbacks went 2-of-12 for 14 yards under pressure.

First-year offensive coordinator Seth Littrell shared Venables’ frustration after the game, blaming struggles and miscommunications and said he was going to get back to work to find the right solution.

“They’re both young (quarterbacks) who have to grow up,” Littrell said. “I’m looking for a guy who can manage the game, who can execute at a high level, and again, I’m not saying that about anybody. I’m going to evaluate that for myself tomorrow. It starts with me.”

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

“We’ve got a good team that could still have a really good year,” Venables said. “You got a lot of football in front of us, but we also made a lot of progress. And that goes without saying.”