Brent Venables talks up Michael Hawkins Jr.'s 'maturity' ahead of Texas game
Brent Venables met with reporters in Norman on Tuesday afternoon in advance of this weekend’s Red River Rivalry matchup against Texas.
Venables was asked about how he plans to prepare true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. for the atmosphere he’ll find inside the Cotton Bowl on Saturday. Venables said Hawkins’ maturity and composure give him confidence that he won’t bee too overwhelmed by his surroundings against Texas.
“Mike’s a very process-driven guy,” Venables said. “He’s always been mature beyond his years. I think he’ll do a good job. I trust and have faith and belief in what I’ve seen … he’s a playmaker, so you don’t want to handcuff him either. But again, don’t let the emotions hijack what it takes to execute.”
Hawkins will be making his second-career start on Saturday against the Longhorns. He was solid in his first start a couple of weeks ago against Auburn, but facing No. 1 Texas will likely provide a different caliber of test.
However, Venables acknowledged that Hawkins is still inexperienced relative to most starting quarterbacks.
“He’s got a lot of really good qualities that maybe sometimes a younger player doesn’t have, but he hasn’t ‘been there, done that,'” Venables said. “And so I’m not discounting that. At some point, you can only do so much as a coach.”
Hawkins is certainly less-experienced than his counterpart for this weekend — Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. This will be Ewers’ third matchup against Oklahoma since he became UT’s starting quarterback in 2022.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon.
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