Why Michael Hawkins Jr. is Oklahoma's best option at QB if John Mateer goes elsewhere

The Sooners might need to start making a Plan B just in case.

Washington State quarterback John Mateer officially entered the transfer portal on Monday and immediately became the best player available. The expectation is for Mateer to follow his offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, to Oklahoma, but that no longer is as guaranteed as initially thought with Miami reportedly entering the conversation.

Mateer is the Sooners' best option to be leading their new offense next season, but they also need to prepare for if someone else makes Mateer a better offer.

Transparency: this post initially started with me looking at three other quarterbacks OU should target in the transfer portal if Mateer does go somewhere else. And the reality is, at this point, outside of maybe Liberty's Kaidon Salter, there is no one out there better than what the Sooners already have.

Freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. will start for OU against Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 27 in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be the fourth start of Hawkins' career.

Hawkins replaced starter Jackson Arnold, who has since transferred to Auburn, Week 4 against Tennessee. He then started the next three games before Arnold then replaced Hawkins and finished the season as the starter.

In his first career start on the road against Auburn, Hawkins immediately sparked life into a lagging OU offense, particularly with his legs. On OU's first drive of the game, Hawkins scrambled for a 48-yard TD.

Then, with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Hawkins ran around the corner and flipped into the end zone for a two-point conversion that put the Sooners up 24-21 with 4:31 left and ultimately helped seal OU's first-ever SEC win.

In his five appearances, Hawkins completed 62.3% of his passes for 536 yards and a TD with two interceptions. He rushed for 143 yards and a score.

The only thing Hawkins is missing compared to most options available in the transfer portal is experience. And playing is the only way to get that.

Mateer and Salter and whoever else you want to include in the conversation have proven what they're capable of. Both of those would be great candidates for Hawkins to learn behind and maybe even redshirt to become the Sooners' future at quarterback.

But not every quarterback in the portal has the experience that Hawkins doesn't. Ohio State transfer Air Noland is actually ranked a spot above Salter in 247Sports' rankings but is a freshman who hasn't recorded a stat yet.

Noland is ranked based off potential and how he was rated as a high school recruit, but Hawkins, too, was a four-star prospect with offers to the likes of Alabama, Michigan and more. There is no reason to pay for what you already have.

There's even an argument to be made for OU to roll with Hawkins no matter what else is out there. Just go find him a veteran backup.

Reports suggest Mateer could cost OU about $3 million. That money could buy the Sooners a pair of really good offensive linemen and receivers. Could Hawkins surrounded by talent be better than Mateer with less support?

Mateer will be successful wherever he ends up, though, especially OU. He's already been in Arbuckle's system for an entire season and was one of the most productive quarterbacks in all of FBS this season.

But part of what made Mateer so good was Arbuckle's system. Mateer was a three-star recruit with only one FBS offer, and although overlooked, Arbuckle took advantage of what Mateer was good at. Arbuckle utililized Mateer's running ability and his competiveness. Mateer was consistently in good situations.

Hawkins would have that same luxury playing for Arbuckle with maybe even more explosiveness than Mateer as a runner but less accuracy as a passer.

The Sooners should still do all they can to get Mateer to Norman. It would be better for Hawkins and the program for him to learn a season or two before being thrown into the SEC fire again.

But if OU misses out on Mateer, that doesn't mean Plan B should be another quarterback sitting in the transfer portal.