Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold was one of the hyped first-year signal-callers in the country coming into the season, and for good reason. Arnold was the No. 1 player in Texas, a consensus five-star who was poised to lead Oklahoma into the SEC and continue the reputation of star-studded quarterbacks in Norman, even post-Lincoln Riley.
Four weeks later, Arnold was benched for a largely unheralded true freshman, Michael Hawkins Jr., a nearly unmatched quick hook for a player of Arnold’s stature. Arnold had a tremendous amount of pressure to be the face of the program put on him. Rather than trying to protect him from it, Oklahoma’s staff added to it. After turning the ball over three times in the first half against one of the nation’s top defenses in Tennessee, Arnold was pulled unceremoniously.
During an embarrassing 34-3 loss to Texas with Hawkins at the helm, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said the offensive staff never considered putting Arnold in. He later said OU would likely redshirt Arnold. Publicly, there was little indication that Arnold would be part of the program’s plans for the rest of the year.
On Monday, Venables announced that plans changed again. Arnold will return to the starting lineup against No. 18 Ole Miss after burning his redshirt off the bench in a loss against South Carolina. He was inserted into the lineup down 21-0 after Hawkins turned the ball over twice in one of the most embarrassing home losses in program history. Hawkins’ redshirt was also burned in that game. No matter what happens from here, both underclassmen wasted a year of eligibility for a season that might not even end in a bowl game.
By the way, Oklahoma is scoring its fewest points per game in a season since 1998 (22.1). The season does feel like a lost cause.
Venables’ decision to yank Arnold back into the starting lineup days after claiming he would be redshirted is only the most recent head-scratching offensive management decision. Especially as the program moves on to its third offensive coordinator in the past calendar year, there should be serious concern that the longtime defensive coordinator is out of his depth dealing with the dynamics of the most important position in football.
Last season, Arnold lost his redshirt because Oklahoma played him in garbage snaps four times. Against SMU and Iowa State, he didn’t even throw a pass, he just wasted snaps. When Dillon Gabriel got hurt against BYU, Arnold had to enter and play a fifth game. Most staffs would have gotten Arnold some early reps, but left a game or two as buffer so that something so silly wouldn’t cost their five-star stud a full year.
Compare Arnold to Tennessee’ QB Nico Iamaleava, a fellow five-star in the Class of 2023. Iamaleava only had two appearances heading into November 2023 as the staff tried to protect his redshirt. He ultimately didn’t play his fourth until the final regular season game. There was no wasting it in pointless moments.
Iamaleava also struggled in his early games, but coach Josh Heupel tried to protect him by leaning on the running game. Against Alabama, he finally delivered. But regardless, everything the staff did was to foster his growth, not pressure it. Oklahoma has approached things the opposite in almost every way.
Additionally, it was no secret that Oklahoma planned to start a second-year quarterback heading into the SEC. It was a huge part of landing Arnold. And yet, Oklahoma entered 2024 with zero returning starting offensive linemen or tight ends. Frankly, it’s a failure to manage the timeline. Sounds familiar.
Even behind the starters, the two-deep was decimated. Out of 12 players listed on OU’s final OL depth chart in 2023, nine are out. Four of them transferred. Maybe they were just bad and couldn’t play, but Oklahoma’s playing a ton of those types these days anyway. Last week, Oklahoma surrendered nine sacks, a program record for all the worst reasons.
And then, add pieces of circumstance that will only become more common against the physical competition of the SEC. Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, the coach who recruited Arnold to Norman, left to take the head coaching job at Mississippi State. Additionally, Oklahoma is down its top five receivers due to injuries. Only one pass-catcher on the roster has 200 yards, and coveted transfer Deion Burks hasn’t played in three games. The staff also whiffed on the transfer linemen they did bring in.
Even after firing Seth Littrell, it’s not like there are clean answers elsewhere. The new primary playcaller is tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley, who has never called plays. His position group has arguably been the worst on the team. Out of five offensive assistants heading into the season, Littrell was the only one who had major schematic experience.
Three of the coaches (Littrell, Finley, running backs coach coach DeMarco Murray) were former offensive players under Bob Stoops. Offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh was a Stoops and Riley holdover. Lebby was a former Oklahoma player, too. The offensive room has been astonishingly insular. That said, there might not be an offensive coordinator in the country that could make something happen with the personnel, which is an indictment for a group that hangs its hat on recruiting.
Eleven days ago, Venables spoke about the fact that he has never been part of a coaching change and did not seem interesting in doing so now. Seven days ago, he said that the program did not consider reinserting Arnold against Texas and planned to redshirt him. He went back on both almost immediately. Frankly, there’s no plan here. Oklahoma is trying to learn how to build a plane in midair.
It’s one thing to do that in the Big 12, when you’re an advantaged program. In the SEC, Oklahoma’s plane was essentially dropped into World War II without a propeller.
Let’s be clear, Arnold was not good in his starts. Before getting benched against Tennessee, the sophomore failed to reach 200 yards and threw interceptions in three straight games. That was mediocre production. Still, if you’re going to stake your offensive reputation on a quarterback change, find a better bet than a freshman who threw zero touchdowns in three starts. Otherwise, just live with some growing pains. You’re starting a sophomore.
Granted, as a defensive coach, this is the first time that Venables has been responsible for a quarterback battle. During his first two years, Dillon Gabriel locked down the position. While some clamored for Arnold to play, Oklahoma made expectations clear. In hindsight, Gabriel’s easy-going nature and ability to deal with public criticism made things a lot easier.
For a moment, compare the situations of Arnold and Hawkins to that of Clemson’s Kelly Bryant and Trevor Lawrence, which Venables got to see up close. Of course, Bryant had multiple more years of experience to build credibility, including leading the Tigers to a No. 1 ranking in the College Football Playoff. At the same time, when Dabo Swinney made the change to Lawrence, it was ten toes down. There was no going back.
A similar situation played out in Norman only three short years ago. Spencer Rattler came into the season as a potential Heisman Trophy contender. When the previous staff pulled the plug and brought in Caleb Williams against Texas, there was no turning back. The handling at Oklahoma so far is less Rattler-to-Caleb and more Kyle Allen vs. Kyler Murray at Texas A&M.
Benching a quarterback, especially in the NIL and transfer portal era, is no small decision. It can change the entire direction of a program. Players only have a limited number of years to play. In the case of Arnold and Hawkins, the pair are only separated by one year of eligibility. Realistically, only one can have a future at the University of Oklahoma. With the way it’s been handled, there’s a serious chance that neither does and Venables has to build a new quarterback room from scratch. Certainly, the Cam Wards and Michael Penixs of the world probably won’t be lining up to enter this offensive situation.
Heading into Week 9, Oklahoma is essentially back where it started. Arnold is the starting quarterback. They’re heading into a brutal SEC schedule. They have no answers at offensive line or running back, while the receivers remain hurt. Now though, the Sooners are down an offensive coordinator, down the flexibility to redshirt either quarterback and know plans A through Z on offense won’t work.
Stepping into the head coaching role as a defensive coordinator can often be a challenge. History is littered with great DCs that never figured out offense. Three years after the top offensive coach in the sport left Norman, though, Venables’ mismanagement has bottomed the unit in record time. Whether he gets the next hire — or quarterback — right will define his tenure.
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