Michael Hawkins Jr. was blunt about his plans as a college football player: He wants to be the quarterback at the University of Oklahoma.
Hawkins met with the media on Friday as the Sooners prepare to play Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 27 and in the midst of chaos at Oklahoma while the transfer portal is open.
As 23 OU players have entered the transfer portal so far, Hawkins and Casey Thompson are the only two scholarship quarterbacks OU has left on its roster heading into bowl season. Two quarterbacks have already left, as well as six wide receivers.
"I'm gonna be at Oklahoma," Hawkins said. "It's where I want to be. I want to play at Oklahoma, be the quarterback at Oklahoma, so I feel like this bowl game can help me, so I feel like that's a big step."
Jackson Arnold was the first quarterback to go after starting most of this season. Arnold was QB1 for nine games while Hawkins started three as a freshman and is also expected to start the bowl game. Arnold was followed by freshman Brendan Zurbrugg, who never played a game as a Sooner before transferring.
That leaves Hawkins, Thompson and redshirt freshman Steele Wasel, who transferred from Akron last year, as OU's only quarterbacks right now. Thompson is a redshirt senior who is out of eligibility so will also be gone by next season.
"It is a little lonely (in the quarterback room)," Hawkins said. "But it is what it is."
Hawkins will be the guy in the bowl game, and although that deemed Arnold as QB1 for the following season last year, that's not the case for Hawkins. Brent Venables and new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle are sure to bring in at least one quarterback from the transfer portal, even if it's just for depth.
That's not scaring Hawkins off, though, like it did Arnold. There are expectations Arbuckle brings in his quarterback from Washington State, John Mateer, who would be the top portal prospect in the country if he indeeds enters.
While most players today head elsewhere when their job is threatened, Hawkins is staying to compete for his dream job.
"I love it. I love competition," Hawkins said. "I feel like that's how it should be. I don't think it should be no other way, so I'm all about competition. I think we need another guy here. So I'm ready."