In college free agency, excuse me, the transfer portal era, what's about to happen on Saturday when the Oklahoma Sooners welcome the Auburn Tigers to town, is going to be more of the norm. The guy who started at quarterback for your favorite football team last year will be on the other sideline, starting for the other team this year.
Jackson Arnold made 10 starts for the Oklahoma Sooners, nine in the 2024 season. He was a former five-star quarterback, expected to be the next big thing for QBU. The environment wasn't conducive to anyone who played quarterback for Oklahoma a year ago, but Arnold didn't help his cause early in the season, getting benched after three first-half turnovers against Tennessee.
Arnold was reinserted into the lineup after true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. turned the ball over on three straight drives to start the game against South Carolina.
There were some good moments, like the win against Alabama, and then some other face-palm moments, like the end of the Missouri game. Ultimately, Arnold and Oklahoma weren't a good marriage in 2024, and the two sides went their separate ways after the season.
There's going to be a lot made of Arnold's return to Norman for this game, but both head coaches, Brent Venables and Hugh Freeze, are publicly downplaying the impact of Arnold's return.
"It's not about Jackson at all," coach Brent Venables said Monday on the Rudy's BBQ Coaches show. "Certainly, we appreciate his time here and the things he was able to accomplish while he was here. Love him, love his family, (mother) Sharon and (father) Todd, they're great people."
Everyone's trying to keep the game about the name on the front instead of the name on the back.
"This is about Oklahoma vs Auburn this week," Venables said. "There will be an Auburn quarterback, and he's very talented, as we know. But this is, for us, to find a way to get a win this week in our opener here in the SEC."
Freeze said, "Well, the good thing is I've had personal experience with that. I've had to go back to a place that I enjoyed coaching, won some games and had to go back in there and take another team in and play. That whole week, you know, it was a challenge for me not to think about some of that. I know the same will be true for Jackson, but he's very mature and he doesn't give any credit to any noise or talk. I mean, he's a pro. We all understand that people might cheer for him, boo him, whatever it is, but I think he's mentally strong and is more about preparing. My advice to him is just keep the focus on our team."
Arnold has the Tigers off to a 3-0 start, utilizing his legs to keep the offense moving. He's completed 69.6% of his passes, but he's only averaging 23 passing attempts per game through three weeks. His stat line is buoyed by a 24 of 28 (85.7%) performance in Week 2 against Ball State. Against Baylor, he threw the ball just 17 times and completed 64.7% of his passes. Against South Alabama, Arnold was 13 of 24 (54.2%) for 142 yards.
Arnold didn't have to throw it a bunch against Baylor or South Alabama because the Tigers were dominating with their rushing attack, and against the Bears in Week 1, he got a boost from a special teams touchdown. Arnold ran for 192 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry in the process.
The challenge for the Oklahoma Sooners defense this week is to play a disciplined football game. If they do that and they'll have success against a good Auburn offense.
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