How does OU's decision to go with Jackson Arnold and let Dillon Gabriel walk look now?

It's midway through the second quarter of the 2024 Oklahoma football season, and let's declare it: The Sooners have a quarterback conundrum, one possibly of their own making.

Oklahoma's so-called quarterback of the future, 2023 five-star recruit Jackson Arnold, was pulled from the game against Tennessee on Saturday night and benched in favor of true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. It wasn't just for a series or two so Arnold could get his head on straight, the former top quarterback recruit's view of the game for the remainder of the contest was from the sidelines.

Arnold, a former Gatorade National Player of the Year while at Denton Guyer (Texas) High School and a former top-10 recruit in the 2023 class nationally, suffered through his worst quarter of football as a second-year collegian in the second quarter against Tennessee. The Oklahoma offense had minus-22 yards of offensive in the second quarter, during which Arnold committed two costly turnovers in Tennessee territory, his third of the game to that point. He threw an interception in the first quarter.

A fumble recovery by the Oklahoma defense had set the Sooners up first-and-goal at the Tennessee six-yard line early in the second quarter. On the very next play, however, Arnold lost the ball on a quarterback keeper, giving the ball right back to the Volunteers.

A little later in the second quarter, the Sooners' registered another strip sack and fumble recovery, this time at the Tennessee 33-yard line. Again, on the first play from scrimmage after the possession exchange, Arnold was under pressure and threw a backward pass to the right flat in the direction of WR Zion Ragins. The ball landed short of the mark and was scooped up by a Tennessee defender and advanced to the Oklahoma 46-yard line. The play was ruled as a lateral and, therefore, a fumble, and possession was awarded right back to the visiting Volunteers.

Tennessee took over in plus territory following Arnold's second fumble of the game and proceeded to march 46 yards in 10 plays for the Vols' second touchdown and a 19-3 lead that they would not relinquish.

At that point, Venables had seen enough, and on OU's ensuing possession, with less under two minutes before halftime, Hawkins was in and the once highly touted Arnold was out. Hawkins finished out the first half and was back in the starting lineup to start the second half.

Playing in just his second collegiate game, the former four-star recruit started off slowly, Three straight third-quarter possessions produced 10 plays, 31 total yards and three punts, but by the fourth quarter, Hawkins was comfortable enough to seize the opportunity before him. He led two long touchdown drives, one of 68 yards and another of 76 yards -- the first two offensive touchdowns scored on Tennessee this season - and finished the game with 11 of 18 passing for 132 yards, a touchdown and no turnovers.

So now the dilemma facing Venables and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Seth Littrell is which quarterback to start on Saturday at Auburn. During the postgame press conference following the Tennessee game, Venables said they would evaluate the situation this week and decide which player (Arnold or Hawkins) gave Oklahoma the best chance to win.

Oklahoma's offensive woes clearly are not all Arnold's fault. But while the Sooners have struggled through three of their first four games to move the ball and get into the end zone with Arnold at the controls, Hawkins managed to find a way to provide a spark to the sluggish offense and lead a pair of touchdown drives against one of the better defenses in the country.

It's not Arnold's ability that is in question -- he's as good as any college QB in the country when it comes to skill level and talent -- it's more about his decision making under duress and the cumulative negative effect that the mental mistakes have had on his confidence level.

What also has some Sooner fans shaking their heads over the current quarterback dilemma is the idea that Dillon Gabriel, a leading Heisman Trophy contender this season could have been at Oklahoma for one more year.

Gabriel, who was the starting quarterback at OU the past two seasons and was the Big 12 passing leader last season, transferred to Oregon in the offseason. He could have stayed at Oklahoma for more season of eligibility, but he knew that the plan was to groom Arnold his freshman season and move him into the starting role in 2024, when it was widely believed Gabriel would be trying his luck at the next level.

Gabriel, however, decided not to declare for the NFL Draft after the 2023 season and return for a final college season. Given the situation at Oklahoma with Arnold, Gabriel thought it best to move on.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but you have to believe that OU would have had a better chance of success in its debut season in the SEC with Gabriel, but of course that would have only been for one year, and there was no guarantee that Arnold wouldn't have opted for the transfer portal.

So that's where we are, and whether it's Hawkins or Arnold who gets the starting call this weekend and whatever happens after that, it's hard to argue that Hawkins hasn't earned the opportunity to see what he can do to breathe some life into a once high-scoring offense that has suddenly gone stagnant.

"He's a tremendous athlete. There were several times there where we had edge pressure that we didn't block, and he got outside of," Venables said of Hawkins play after the Tennessee game. "He has some playmaking ability, (and) he can hurt you with his legs. We did have some drives where he got into a nice rhythm, and he showed that he could make some plays."

One national expert who has already weighed in on the subject is ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit. When Hawkins went literally head over heels into the end zone on OU's final scoring drive, Herbstreit, who was doing the ABC game broadcast alongside Chris Fowler, commented:

"This kid is your quarterback. This is your quarterback right here, No. 9, moving on into next week,: Herbstreit said. "This kid has done enough in these handful of series in the second half. This is what it's all about right here. This kid is fighting for every inch."

We're going to spend this week like we do every game week by putting everything into getting ready for our next opponent, and that included naming the starting quarterback, Venables said. The Sooners make their first road trip of the season this week, traveling to Auburn.

"We've got a good enough team to still have a really good year," the Sooner head coach reminded everybody.