Brent Venables addresses the decision not to play Jackson Arnold, stick with Michael Hawkins Jr. against South Carolina

In an effort to be seen doing something to change the offense, many fans clamored for Michael Hawkins Jr. to be benched against Texas in favor of Jackson Arnold.

This coming just a few weeks after calling for Arnold to be benched feels more than a tad ironic.

Venables succinctly answered postgame that the team never considered a change at quarterback, even as the offense failed to generate much after the first quarter.

On his coaches' show Monday evening, Venables elaborated a bit more on the decision, albeit without getting into too much detail.

Venables also confirmed that Hawkins will be the starter against South Carolina this weekend.

At the end of the day, Hawkins' game against Texas was a true freshman making his second-ever start while missing his top five wide receivers in a jumbled-up mess of an offense.

Hawkins has shown flashes of his ability and hasn't turned the ball over as often as Jackson Arnold seemingly was. It felt clear following the loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in Week 4 that the staff lost trust in Jackson Arnold and felt like he was doing more harm than good with his turnover problem.

I don't believe Venables deciding this is a "problem" and I do believe this is being over-sensationalized. Arnold couldn't stop turning the ball over and messed up plays every game.

The quiet part of this that Venables can't say out loud is that playing musical chairs would do more harm than good for the program long term.

If you bench Hawkins to put Arnold in, you then run the risk of both Arnold AND Hawkins hitting the transfer portal in the offseason. With Casey Thompson also out of eligibility, the Sooners would then enter the offseason with every quarterback on the depth chart gone.

Then you're reliant on the whims of the portal in a class that may or may not be good and you're forced to break in a new starter and a new scheme, further exacerbating the turnover they've already gone through this season.

I understand the frustrations around the offense. It's bleak and depressing. When you're breaking in a new freshman, however, you have to live with the ups and downs. Caleb Williams got benched after beating out Rattler in 2021 after his struggles in the Baylor game and then threw for just 96 yards against Iowa State the following week.

These players take time. Give him time to settle in as players get healthy and see how he responds and grows. It's an encouraging sign that he's not throwing interceptions, he just now has to learn to trust what he's seeing on the field, which takes time.