NORMAN – When Brent Venables made the decision to replace quarterback Jackson Arnold with true freshman Micahel Hawkins Jr., he kept circling back to one major issue – turnovers. 

“The turnovers and where they were at were really a real issue, obviously,” Venables said ahead of the Auburn game when identifying what went wrong with Arnold in the lineup against Tennessee. 

Throughout the spring and fall, every indication from Venables was that Hawkins was doing a great job of both learning the offense and making quick, smart decisions on the practice field. 

Through 10 quarters of football, Hawkins has delivered on protecting the ball in the passing game. 

He’s thrown no interceptions, but not only that, he hasn’t really come close to put the ball in harm’s way through the air. Hawkins hasn’t had to rely on the good fortune of a defensive back dropping an interception, as the ball either ends up in the hands of an OU receiver or safely out of bounds after making the decision to live to fight another down. 

Taking care of the football is always a good thing, but Venables said Hawkins still has to take the opportunities in front of him when they reveal themselves throughout a game. 

“We had plenty of opportunities in the first drive of the game,” Venables said on Tuesday. “After getting the first down, we’re open, we’re behind the defender and we just overthrow it. We don’t catch it in the end zone. We attack vertically. There’s always a pros and cons with that, too. You want to try to stay on time and stay on schedule and stay ahead of the chains. So when you take shots down the field, you like your matchup, you like your coverage, you like where you’re at on the field, but you’ve got to live and die with that, too.

“… And then our third drive, we get things going there, and we get three first downs but we miss some opportunities  within the drive. There’s plenty of opportunities, but we got a slant rout open on 3rd and 7, we go to hit him. Again, well-designed play, and it’s going to be tight coverage, but we’ve got to make those plays.”

Hawkins finished the game 19-for-30 through the air for 148 yards. He was under duress essentially the entire contest, as he was sacked five times. 

But there were a few moments late where even a turnover might have been more productive than just throwing the ball away. 

Down 27-3 in the fourth quarter, Hawkins threw the ball away on fourth-and-3. Despite having no obvious places to throw the football, the offense doesn’t have a chance to convert if the ball isn’t kept in play. 

Hawkins again was unable to make anything happen on the final play of the game, where he threw the ball out the back of the end zone as time expired. 

The offensive issues don’t rest on the shoulders of the true freshman – far from it. 

But there are chances to be more aggressive with the football, and that’s the next step Hawkins will have to take in his development as he gets more comfortable and makes just his third career start against South Carolina on Saturday (11:45 a.m., SEC Network).

The coaching staff will continue to work with him on exactly when to try and make a big-time throw as well to balance pushing the ball further downfield without being reckless. 

“The second half, he had a couple of really nice throws,” Venables said. “Over-the-middle type coverage, bang-bang type plays. Didn’t happen the first half early. There’s times you don’t trust it. That’s just part of the maturation. You don’t want that. You go back, you freeze the picture, show ‘em what’s there. You develop that for practice and the confidence that comes with it.  Everybody’s gotta be on the same page. And again, you go back, you show ‘em the ones that were good and then you say, here’s the ones that were there. You match ‘em up with maybe what we did in practice.

“… So you try to show the players that you do that to create affirmation, that you’re being shown the right things. You gotta execute the things that you know are gonna be successful. When you get on the field with a call, you’re in a good position to be successful.”

Hawkins will be the first to say he can make improvements, too. He was quick to identify areas where he can be better in the immediate aftermath of the loss to Texas. 

“I just could’ve came out a little harder,” he said on Saturday. “Saw little things I could’ve fixed on the sideline after plays. Got to do better, could’ve gotten through it better and just leading my team in a better way. The biggest thing for me is just coming back harder, my mindset of working and leading my team when things go left.”

Growing pains are to be expected with a true freshman quarterback in the SEC, and Venables is looking forward to Hawkins getting right back on the horse at practice this week as he works to improve. 

“As I go back, were there opportunities there? Were guys wide open? Yeah, several times wide open,” Venables said. “Is the protection there when they were wide open? Yeah, it sure was. Do we got to pull the trigger? Yeah, we do

“… You try to build the confidence, continuity, cohesion, the timing, all of those things. By the end, we’re gonna go right back at it again. You hit it head-on as much as anything.”

On Friday night, no. 13 BYU hosts Oklahoma State for a chance to improve to 7-0. This game is important for both teams: the Cougars are looking to remain in the thick of the conference title hunt, and the Cowboys are desperate for a win after losing back-to-back-to-back games. The Cowboys are coming off a bye week, and Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy has a reputation for winning games after bye weeks. The temperature is expected to be in the low 40’s throughout the game.

BYU-Oklahoma State a is quickly trending towards a sellout. As of early late Tuesday evening, just over 600 tickets remain available on the BYU Tickets website, primarily in the North endzone. Only one lower bowl ticket remains – the rest are in the upper bowl.

Tickets Available (As of 10/15/24 in the evening)

West Side: 12
North Side: 467
East Side: 31
South Side: 103

BYU has sold out all three of its home games this season against Southern Illinois, Kansas State and Arizona. The Southern Illinois and Kansas State games didn’t sellout until a few hours before kickoff. The Arizona game sold out a few days before kickoff. BYU-Oklahoma State is on pace to sellout a day or two before kickoff.

Lavell Edwards Stadium is the biggest venue in the Big 12. BYU has exceeded capacity over the last two home games this season. The BYU-Arizona game was the most attended game at BYU since BYU-TCU in 2009.

Southern Illinois attendance: 63,712
Kansas State attendance: 64,201
Arizona attendance: 64,420

New details have been released about the suspects arrested after a deadly weekend mass shootout where 15 people were shot.

A 19-year-old died in the shooting that happened at an event center in Southwest Oklahoma City.

“I feel sorry for his mom and his family and everything,” Jose Avila, a friend of the victim, said.

On Monday, police confirmed that Gerardo Sandoval, nicknamed “Junior,” was the person killed early Saturday morning at Patty’s Event Center in southwest Oklahoma City.

Related Story: Leaders Call For Change After Mass Shootout In SW OKC

“It’s believed that there were two groups of people that got into some sort of argument. During that argument, shots were fired,” Capt. Valerie Littlejohn with Oklahoma City Police said Saturday morning. “It appears there were multiple different shooters and different guns used.”

Police now say the argument was between Sandoval and a group of people at the scene.

It escalated to gunfire, and Sandoval was killed, and 14 bystanders were injured in the crossfire.

Police arrested 19-year-old Jaziel Ramos and 20-year-old Thomas Santiago on first-degree murder complaints.

Related Story: 1 Dead, At Least 14 Injured In Halloween Party Shootout In Southwest Oklahoma City

20-year-old Abraham Violante faces multiple complaints of assault with a deadly weapon.

“It’s just one of them things you get into an argument, and you’re under the influence, and it goes zero to a hundred real quick,” Avila said on Saturday when he came to the scene Saturday and discovered his friend had been killed.

“What can we do about it? Life goes on, but I feel bad for his mom and stuff,” Avila said.

Friends and family describe Sandoval as funny and a sweet soul whose bright smile always lit up the room.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover Sandoval’s funeral costs. 

Click here to donate: