Bob Stoops was impressed with what he saw out of quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. on Saturday in OU’s win over Auburn.

The former Oklahoma coach talked about Hawkins’ first career start on KREF earlier this week.

“I thought he was outstanding,” Stoops said. “He played within himself. He played smart. I loved the fact that in certain situations when nothing was there, he ate the ball. Sometimes you gotta do that. Live play another series and don’t make a big mistake. I thought overall, that’s what he did.”

Hawkins’ play in that regard was in stark contrast to Jackson Arnold, whom Hawkins replaced midway through OU’s loss to Tennessee a couple of weeks ago. Arnold turned it over 3 times vs. the Vols, which led to OU’s decision to give Hawkins a chance.

However, Hawkins was not merely a game manager in the win over Auburn. He produced 2 massive plays — 1 on the ground and 1 through the air — which proved to be crucial in OU’s win. He finished the game with 161 passing yards on 15 attempts and also led the team in rushing with 69 yards on the ground.

Here’s a clip of Stoops’ comments:

Oklahoma is idle in Week 6 but will have a tough test against Texas in Dallas on Oct. 12.