​Two former starting quarterbacks for the Oklahoma Sooners have apparently won their QB battles at their new schools. According to multiple reports, both Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins Jr. will be the starting signal-caller for their respective teams to open the season.Arnold, who spent two seasons at OU before playing at Auburn last year, transferred again to UNLV this offseason. There, he was expected to be the starting quarterback, but had a fight on his hands to beat out Alex Orji for the starting gig. According to head coach Dan Mullen on his coach’s show on Thursday, Arnold will get the start for the Rebels in their Week 0 clash at home against Memphis on Saturday night. Mullen also noted that Orji will play a lot, and that there is a plan in place to play both QBs.Former Oklahoma and Auburn transfer Jackson Arnold will be the starting QB for UNLV on the first play of Saturday’s game against Memphis, Dan Mullen said on his radio show last night.https://t.co/U8U8DRvrkVhttps://t.co/JQ0VL6zuTqpic.twitter.com/32vaWi9BZ4— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) August 28, 2026Hawkins also spent two seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to West Virginia this offseason. There, he was locked in a tight QB derby with Scotty Fox Jr., but it sounds like Hawkins has gained the upper hand. According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez is expected to name Hawkins as the WVU starter for their season opener at home against Coastal Carolina on September 5th. NEW: West Virginia is expected to name Oklahoma transfer Michael Hawkins its starting QB, @PeteNakos reports⛰️https://t.co/NdY3DtklCTpic.twitter.com/6T5rfz8Qr9— On3 (@On3) August 28, 2026Arnold and Hawkins will forever be linked in Oklahoma history, as they were the two quarterbacks for the underwhelming 2024 season in Norman. Arnold, taking over as the much-anticipated starter as the Sooners arrived in the SEC, was a consensus five-star recruit who had been given his true freshman season to watch and learn the year prior. However, it took just three-and-a-half games for the country to see that Arnold wasn’t going to be the answer. After three bad turnovers on national television at home against Tennessee, Arnold was benched in favor of Hawkins, who finished that game and started the next three.Despite being just a true freshman who had not been expected to be anything more than a backup, Hawkins helped the Sooners to a comeback win against Auburn. However, he was ineffective in the loss to Texas and was pulled early in a loss to South Carolina, with OU turning back to Arnold. The results weren’t much better, though Arnold did help the Sooners upset Alabama. After the regular-season finale, Arnold hit the portal, meaning Hawkins got one more start in 2024, playing well in a bowl loss to Navy.Oklahoma’s 2024 offensive struggles weren’t all on the quarterbacks, as injuries and the wrong offensive coordinators also played a huge role. However, neither player was particularly effective