Oklahoma has been waiting a while to get rolling in the class of 2024 and on Monday the third class of Brent Venables‘s tenure in Norman got it’s first commitment. That came in the form of Frisco (Texas) Emerson Rivals250 quarterback Michael Hawkins. The Sooners, for the second straight year, land a high-end prospect from the Dallas-Ft. Worth area to be their signal caller. Let’s take a look at what made him such an early focus for Brent Venables, Jeff Lebby, and the Sooners staff.
SoonerScoop.com Recruiting Editor Josh McCuistion: Hawkins is the kind of guy who, when it’s all coming together, looks like a potentially dominant player at quarterback. Hawkins has size, easy agility to move around in the pocket, and speed beyond that to make plays downfield with his feet, he also has plenty of arm and shows some impressive throws.
Hawkins, like many top-end athletes, does a great job of making plays and is natural when out of the pocket. In fact some might argue that’s when he looks the most consistent with his delivery and confident in his work down the field.
And though he has work to do refining his game it’s not hard to see why Oklahoma and so many others on his offer list were willing to bet on his upside. Hawkins has been a highly productive player for Allen, and figures to continue that at Emerson as a senior but there’s no denying his best football is likely in front of him.
As he gets more consistent there’s a chance his game could skyrocket.
But while it’s easy to talk about the potential it’s also easy to see that Hawkins has a solid baseline as a player. He looks comfortable moving around in the pocket and drives the ball well between the hashes, a rare trait for many young quarterbacks.
Player Comparison: There is some Kellen Mond in his game but he reminds me more of former UCLA standout Dorian Thompson-Robinson.