Can Auburn's defense tighten up against another dual-threat QB?
Not much is known about Oklahoma's new true freshman starter — except for the fact that he can hurt you with his legs. Game on.
(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
AUBURN — When Oklahoma enters Jordan-Hare Stadium for its first-ever SEC road game Saturday afternoon, it will be led by a brand-new starting quarterback.
Michael Hawkins Jr., a true freshman, is the new starting quarterback at Oklahoma. He replaced former 5-star Jackson Arnold last Saturday, during a home loss to Tennessee, and went 11-18 passing for 132 yards and a touchdown. Hawkins put a spark in the Sooners’ offense — one that currently ranks No. 126 nationally in yards per play — and he will try to keep that going against Auburn.
There’s a whole lot of unknown when it comes to Hawkins, who was the No. 20 quarterback in the 2024 class by the 247Sports Composite. But Auburn knows that Hawkins is a true dual threat, even though he only had 22 rushing yards last Saturday.
“Hawkins is a dynamic quarterback,” inside linebacker Eugene Asante said Tuesday. “He’s certainly somebody that is dynamic with his legs. He’s extremely fast and extremely talented. As a linebacker, I’m excited to get the challenge to go against him.”
For Auburn, Saturday will mark the third straight week that the Tigers will face a quarterback who likes to run. Devon Dampier had multiple good runs early and kept throwing chances alive with his legs in Auburn’s Week 3 over New Mexico.
Last week, Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green had 118 rushing yards against Auburn — excluding sacks and a couple of botched plays. Four of his carries went for double-digit yardage, including an early third-and-long that could have been a three-and-out.
“We didn't think that he wanted to run out of the pocket,” defensive end Keldric Faulk said. “We thought he was big and he could move, but we thought he wanted to sit in the pocket and get the ball out. He showed everybody that he could move at Boise State, where he came from. The couple of games he played at Arkansas, he kinda stayed in.
“It looked like he wanted to show people he could throw the ball. Which, I mean, he's a pretty good passer. We tried to get a little saucy with it — just go get to him. But we opened up too many lanes for him. Those big lanes, it's hard not to take them.”
Faulk said Hawkins reminds him of former teammate Robby Ashford, who is now at South Carolina. He thinks that, between the dual-threat quarterbacks who have worn the orange and blue and the ones they’ve faced recently, Auburn knows the dangers that Hawkins presents.
“With this quarterback, he's really talented,” Faulk said. “We need to keep eyes on him while we rush him, just to make sure we don't let him leak out of the pocket. He can be dangerous leaking out of it.”
Auburn has spent the last few days focused on improving their “rush integrity” — pressuring a dual-threat quarterback while also making sure to keep him in the pocket. If a defense gets too far deep or too far inside with the rush, it just opens up massive spaces for a quarterback to scramble.
Green did that several times last Saturday. Back in Week 2, Auburn’s loss to Cal, Fernando Mendoza converted a couple of third downs with 10-yard runs.
“Whenever you’re going against a mobile quarterback, there’s a lot of things they can try to do to escape the pocket,” Asante said. “It’s understanding rush integrity, understanding closing the space on a quarterback that is mobile and just getting to him fast. Tackling in a phone booth is something we emphasize.”
Oklahoma is hoping Hawkins can generate some offense behind what has been a line that has struggled with injuries and poor performance so far this season. Oklahoma has allowed 12 sacks in four games, which ranks 117th nationally. According to PFF, the Sooners have allowed 39 quarterback pressures. (The Tigers are down for 26.)
Going to Hawkins could turn things around for a rushing attack that ranks No. 105 nationally in yards per carry at 3.56. Against Houston and Tennessee, the two power-conference teams its faced this season, the Sooners ran for just 1.76 yards per carry.
“I feel he wants to tuck the ball,” said safety Jerrin Thompson, who played Oklahoma regularly during his time at Texas. “He’s a pretty good quarterback. He has a good arm. He can throw it. I’m very familiar with this offense and what they like to do.
“As a defense, if we can disguise looks and give him some hard time reading the defense, it'd be an exciting night. … We just eliminate the run game and what they want to do, then we're going to have them on their heels a little bit.”
Auburn’s defensive matchup against Hawkins and a desperate Oklahoma offense was just one of several major storylines coming out of Tuesday.
Here’s what we heard and saw at the Football Performance Center, between several player interviews and a short practice viewing window.
QB Payton Thorne (Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)