AUBURN – Spring football is back on the Plains as the Auburn Tigers are heading into their second week of practices, putting on pads for the first time on Tuesday, and a glaring difference is the Tigers’ new-look quarterback room.
A heralded five-star recruit from Denton, Texas, in the 2022 class, Jackson Arnold signed as the Tigers’ highest-rated quarterback ever through the transfer portal in December. The decision-making process wasn’t a lengthy one for either Auburn or Arnold, as it seemed a perfect fit from start once Arnold entered his name into the transfer portal.
“Our room emptied out this offseason, which was a surprise," Auburn quarterbacks coach Kent Austin said Monday. "We really did a thorough job of evaluating all the quarterbacks in the portal. The most important thing from a football standpoint was: Is he a fit for the offense? And what level of experience does he have to be able to come in and compete for the starting job? That's where we started in the process."
“Jackson is really bright, he's got a really quick arm, he's really accurate. He gets the ball out of his hand, he's calm in the pocket, he can run, he's got quick feet and decent linear speed,” he added. “So everything was, we thought, the best fit for our offense and what we're going to be moving forward."
Arnold was at the helm of a Sooners' offense struggling to find its footing at the start of the 2024 season, leading to Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables benching Arnold in favor of freshman Michael Hawkins, Jr. after he completed under 60% of his passes in the Sooners’ first four games.
Arnold once again handled the starting duties after Oklahoma offensive coordinator Seth Litrell was fired. He responded by throwing for 883 yards, rushing for 306 yards and picking up a big win over Alabama after jumping back into the starting role for the Sooners' final six games.
Although Arnold responded well after his earlier benching and showed promise toward the end of the season, it was simply just time for a change.
“Unless you're there and seeing what the dynamics are — with respect to the environment he's in — you're not able to make a judgment call on that," Austin said. "It's hard to determine the validity of some of that information. We spent a lot of time with him and a lot of time with respect to his understanding of the game. How he viewed what he went through is also important. We came to the conclusion that sometimes things don't work out the way you thought they would, and a change is a positive thing."
Now at Auburn, Arnold is going through spring practices in hopes of taking over the competition from day one. He is working with an ultra-talented wide receiver room, one that Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze says is one of the best he’s ever been a part of, and has started spring ball on a strong note.
“He has a calm demeanor and confidence. He understands ball and has a high football IQ. Arm strength is good. There's a reason he was Gatorade Player of the Year coming out of high school. I think he needed to start to regain some confidence, and I think he's doing that in a fast, fast pace. His decision making has been on point. We'll watch today's film, I don't know about it, but in the previous three days — again, he didn't have pads on — there've been very, very few decisions that were the wrong ones,” Freeze said.
Joining Arnold as the only other scholarship quarterback this spring is highly touted freshman Deuce Knight, who Austin and Freeze say they are plenty impressed with – maybe even more so than they thought they would be at this time. Austin spoke of the former five-star’s ability to make high-level plays that most freshmen cannot make, simply due to his unique physical talents.
“Deuce's maturity is way farther along than what I even knew, and he is hungry to learn and is always asking questions. Always wanting to talk about how I improve this and that. He is an extremely hard worker that you have to run off the field from trying to throw too much. They're getting a lot of throws because there's only two of them right now. I'm really pleased by those guys right now," Freeze said.
Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels will arrive on the Plains in the summer, concluding his graduation.
This year's A-Day will resemble a traditional practice instead of the usual scrimmage with a kept score. The event, set for April 12 at Jordan-Hare Stadium, will offer free admission and a post-practice autograph session.
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