Freshman Sooner quarterback ‘never gets rattled’
When Michael Hawkins, Jr. walked from the field toward the corner of Jordan-Hare stadium, the young freshman quarterback exhibited only a stone-faced expression as he gazed upon the crimson clad fans gathered there chanting his name after witnessing a “Sooner Magic” comeback in Oklahoma’s first Southeastern Conference road game.
It was the same look Hawkins had carried a week before, when coaches called him from the bench to replace a heralded starter and provide a spark for an ailing offense.
Hawkins’ spark had not been enough to eek out a win against Tennessee back in Norman. But, this time, Hawkins had just led the Sooners to a 27-21 win over Auburn in a hostile environment of 88,000 roaring Tiger fans.
This time, Hawkins had darted 48 yards for a touchdown on OU’s first series, giving Oklahoma an early 7-0 lead.
This time, the Sooners down by 11 points and with hope seemingly slipping away in the fourth quarter, Hawkins had thrown a 60-yard bomb to backup wide receiver J.J. Hester, who was called upon because the Sooners top five receivers were sidelined with injury.
This time, Hawkins solidified himself as a fan favorite. It happened the moment he scrambled and careened himself in a leaping arc over a wall of Tiger defenders at the goal line to score a two-point conversion following Kip Lewis’ 63-yard pick six to lead to a remarkable fourth quarter come-from-behind win.
In the early chapters of the Hawkins story, when all would allow the young quarterback his moment of jumping with the same glee and joy that OU fans exuded in the final minutes Saturday in Auburn, Alabama, this young football player showed little expression. Only stoic confidence.
He calmly walked to his parents and gave them a hug.
Oklahoma fans are learning, it is who he is.
Last year, when the then Emerson High School senior committed to Oklahoma, his prep football coach noted his arm strength and run ability — the qualities of a dual threat quarterback. The very ingredients needed for an injury-depleted Oklahoma offense to survive the rigors of a violent SEC schedule.
But, he said, Hawkins presented something else.
“The other thing with him that really sets him apart is just his poise,” Emerson High School coach Kendall Miller, told the Dallas Morning News in 2023.
“He never gets rattled. He’s the same even-keeled in a pressure time or when you’re up by 50. That is an unwritten talent of a quarterback that is highly valuable.”
Hawkins comes from Sooner football stock. His father, Michael Hawkins, Sr., played on Bob Stoops’ 2002 team as a defensive back and went on to an Arena Football League and National Football League career that saw him bounce around pro football in Packers, Browns and Vikings jerseys.
Hawkins’ football demeanor may have come from his dad’s preparation of him for the rigors of football, which often brings unpleasant and unexpected events. But, it may also reflect a degree of perseverance that comes from his own experience when things did not go as planned.
Racist graffiti incident interrupts high school plan
Hawkins shined at quarterback for Emerson, a suburban Frisco, Texas school that had only recently established a football program.
He had moved into the Emerson district his senior year, an unusual move considering he had already been pegged as a four-star recruit — the highest rated high school quarterback in the DFW metroplex — playing through his junior year at Allen, Texas, a blue-blood high school football program that plays in a $60 million stadium and which produced such stars as eventual Heisman trophy winner Kyler Murray.
Late one night during Hawkins’ junior year at Allen, someone had painted in foot-tall black lettering these words on the Hawkins family’s garage door:
“WE DON’T NEED YOU HERE IN ALLEN [N-word].”
His father believed the racist graffiti was directed toward the high school quarterback. Police were called. The Allen mayor condemned the incident. But, no one was ever arrested for the hate crime.
The incident happened less than a month before Hawkins would announce his decision about what college he would attend. The four-star recruit was being sought after by both Oklahoma and Alabama.
At a time when the family had hoped to be celebrating a bright athletic future for Michael Jr., all that became secondary because his parents now feared for his safety. So, the Hawkins family moved from Allen to the smaller school district of Emerson to distance him from the racist incident.
Sometimes things don’t go as planned.
But, so far in Hawkins’ short football career, he has managed to handle it with calm. And he has managed to find success.
Like his high school football coach said about him, he doesn’t get rattled.
As the Sooners plow further into the SEC minefield, it will face only more adversity and tougher opponents than they have faced thus far. LSU and South Carolina are playing better each week. Missouri is formidable. An irritable Old Miss team will be licking its wounds brought from an upset to Kentucky.
And Alabama looks like it belongs in the NFL after an exciting win over mighty Georgia.
All are on the Sooners’ remaining 2024 schedule.
Any Sooners quarterback — the most important position on the field — will have plenty of reasons to get rattled in the weeks ahead.
So, maybe even more than the return of a healthy wide receiver or two, or opportune turnovers forced by the Sooner defense, or better playing calling by coaches, what Oklahoma needs most importantly to survive this season is a guy at QB who won’t be fazed when things don’t go as planned.
If so, it looks like they have found their guy.
Photo credit: Soonersports.com
See the Dallas Morning News story about the racial incident against Hawkins here.
—-
Follow
