Arnold burns redshirt; Venables mum on QB1

Eli Lederman, ESPN Personnel WriterOct 19, 2024, 01:47 PM ET

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Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He signed up with ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.Oklahoma coach Brent Venables was

noncommittal on the immediate future of the Sooners’quarterback position after he benched first-year passer Michael Hawkins Jr. and returned to sophomore Jackson Arnold in Saturday’s 35-9 loss to South Carolina, the most recent low in the program’s 1-3 start to life in the SEC.Oklahoma stood by Hawkins in Week 8 after the Sooners’ 34-3 loss to Texas on Oct. 12. However after Hawkins devoted turnovers on each of Oklahoma’s very first 3 drives Saturday– assisting the Gamecocks develop a 21-0 lead in simply 5:20– Venables & Co. reversed to Arnold, a former first-class possibility who had not played because he was benched in the Sooners ‘Week 4 loss to Tennessee.Arnold finished 18 of his 36 passes for 225 lawns and a touchdown in relief as Oklahoma suffered its biggest home defeat because a 45-24 defeat to Ohio State in September 2017. With his fifth appearance this season, Arnold is no longer eligible to take a redshirt year in 2024, leaving him with two years of eligibility after this season.After the game, Venables provided no indicator of how the Sooners plan to move forward at quarterback ahead of their Week 9 trip to No. 18 Ole Miss.”We’ll speak about that when we

figure that out as far as moving on,”Venables said.” However 3 straight drives with turnovers– that’s a quite easy decision.”Hawkins, a freshman passer from Dallas, had actually not tossed an interception across 10 quarters as Oklahoma’s beginning quarterback before Saturday. The tide began to turn on Hawkins when he was obstructed by South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori on the very first play from scrimmage, setting up a five-play, 41-yard goal drive capped by Raheim Sanders’three-yard scoring run.The Gamecocks transformed Hawkins ‘fumble on the next series into a 36-yard touchdown return and the quarterback’s day ended on Emmanwori’s 65-yard pick-six on the ensuing drive that put South Carolina up 21-0 at the 9:40 mark of the first quarter. Arnold went into to stop the

bleeding with 9:24 left in the opening period and later on offered among Oklahoma’s couple of highlights with a 54-yard touchdown strike to Brenen Thompson after halftime.But Arnold was sacked 8 times in his first action considering that Sept. 21 and the Sooners ended up under 300 yards of overall offense for the 5th time this season. Per ESPN Research study, the defeat marked the first time Oklahoma was held under 10 points in consecutive games considering that 1998. “There was some that was great and some that wasn’t,”Venables said of Arnold’s performance. “But he did a lot that was great today. Again, we have actually got to be great around him.”After an unbeaten run through nonconference play, Oklahoma has dropped 3 of its very first 4 SEC games. In losses to Texas and South Carolina, the Sooners have actually

been outscored 69-12 over their past eight quarters.” What we put out there today as a football team is absolutely nothing from another location close to the requirement here at the University of Oklahoma,”

Venables said.Ahead for Oklahoma are matchups with ranked SEC opponents in 4 of the Sooners ‘5 last games of the regular season. Oklahoma follows its visit to Ole Miss with November games at No. 19 Missouri(Nov. 9), No. 7 Alabama( Nov. 23)and at No. 8 LSU

(Nov. 30 ). A small reprieve must come when Maine sees Norman on Nov. 2, but the Sooners start the remainder of the season standing on unstable

ground and without certainty at the quarterback position.”The leaders in the locker room, I feel they’re going to continue to combat and remain dedicated,”Venables stated.” That is among the hardest things to do. “