Michael Hawkins Jr. chose the hard path. Or, at least in this era of college football, the path that often ends with a trip to the transfer portal and a fresh start elsewhere. If not the path of most resistance,

Few regular season matchups put as much pressure on a quarterback as the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry. The emotions of a century-old border clash, the pregame crowds at the State Fair of Texas and the four hours of constant crowd noise inside the Cotton Bowl — not to mention playing the game itself — are conditions that will test any quarterback.

True freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. will make his second career start for No. 18 Oklahoma against Quinn Ewers and top-ranked Texas on Saturday. Hawkins will be the first true freshman