Never let it be said that Oklahoma's fans and alumni don't want to leave any stone unturned when it comes to improving the team. After their 34-3 loss to the Texas Longhorns, fans want to see yet another quarterback change to benching Michael Hawkins in favor of lobbing Jackson Arnold back out there.
Even former Sooners are making their opinions known. Gerald McCoy, one of the Sooners' best defenders of all time and the number three pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, chimed in on the debate.
This debate probably isn't going to end as long as the offense struggles.
I wrote about this the other day, but the quarterback isn't the biggest problem with the Sooners' offense. It's the scheme and play-calling that remains a far bigger problem than whoever lines up under center.
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 did. Following the loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in Week 4, it felt clear that the staff lost trust in Jackson Arnold and felt like his turnover problem was doing more harm than good.
Starting Arnold is, in my opinion, a case of trying to be seen doing something to fix the offense instead of focusing on the real problem. It doesn't matter who is under center when the offense's average third-down distance is almost eight whole yards. It doesn't matter who is under center when Oklahoma's offense abandons plays that are working in favor of plays that go nowhere.
Related: Offensive miscues, poor play calling doom Oklahoma Sooners in Red River against Texas Longhorns
If you bench Hawkins now, you run the risk of having both Arnold and Hawkins potentially leave in the portal after the season. With Casey Thompson graduating, all three of the top quarterbacks on the depth chart would be gone and you have to play the transfer portal yet again.
Coming off of an embarrassing offensive season, it's hard to imagine they'd get a lot of enthusiasm without making a huge splash with a new offensive coordinator.
I get the frustration, I do. The offense flat-out stinks. It's frustrating and ruins the excitement of watching Oklahoma play. Going back to Jackson Arnold, who we were all frustrated at for his boneheaded decisions, pocket presence, and poor accuracy issues. The offense didn't move well with Arnold either, lest we forget.
Give Hawkins time. This is a lot of pressure being put on him to carry the entire offense in his first time starting while he's missing a bunch of his playmakers.
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