Dazed and distraught — Jackson Arnold looked up to see the official ruling that the then-OU quarterback had coughed up his third turnover of the game, with 5:27 remaining in the second quarter against Tennessee.
It came at a critical time as the Sooners were near Tennessee’s end zone and down only 7 to the No. 6 team in the nation at the time. Jackson Arnold had the opportunity to shift the Sooners’ fate, but the former five-star recruit blew it, resulting in a 25-15 loss.
Head coach Brent Venables, frustrated with Jackson Arnold, benched the quarterback for the remainder of the game.
“It was a gut punch,” Todd, Jackson Arnold’s father, said.
The Arnold family, after collecting themselves, sat down with Jackson Arnold's agent the following day.
“He was instrumental,” Todd Arnold said. “He deals with people on a higher level because of dudes playing in the NFL, and he told Jackson, ‘You need to get in the film room. … You need to conduct yourself at workouts and practice like you've never lost a job, continue practicing at a high level, be a good teammate and be helpful when you can be.’ And he said, ‘We'll navigate this going forward, but you need to show people that you are better than moping around.’”
The benching meant a statement of Jackson Arnold’s season, as he contributed to an OU offense ranked No. 126 of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools in 2024 and was sacked a Southeastern Conference-high 50 times. However, the quarterback was not alone in struggling, as the offensive linemen and wide receivers suffered with injuries on the way to 6-7.
“It's a tough first year in the SEC, and then you get hit with a barrage of injuries — offensive line and wide receivers,” Todd Arnold said. “It's just really tough. … He would have done anything for them, and it was just a tough situation all the way around. You feel bad for the wide receivers, and you feel bad for the offensive line. … Results still weren’t what Jackson wanted on the field and can't say that's all his fault, but he still wanted to win.”
Between the team and Jackson Arnold’s challenges, it was a very emotional season for the quarterback, and his agent told his parents not to speak with their son much about on-field matters.
“When we talked, we tried to talk about other things,” Todd Arnold said. “I had been given that advice by his agent (of) ‘Don't make everything about football because if he's on the phone with you guys, he's probably wanting a release from the everyday grind of football.’ He was suggesting to us that (we) just need to talk to him as a family. … We didn't want to put undue pressure on him that everything was about football.”
Todd Arnold did, however, ask his son about conversations with Venables before leaving.
“He said, ‘It was respectful, and it was good. I just explained where I'm at, and I just need a fresh start,’” Todd Arnold said.
Jackson Arnold was set to have a fourth offensive coordinator in three years, with Jeff Lebby, Seth Littrell and Joe Jon Finley leading the Sooner offense from 2023-24. Under Lebby’s direction, Jackson Arnold was a backup to former Sooner quarterback Dillon Gabriel. In 2024, Jackson Arnold began as a starter in Littrell’s system before the quarterback’s demise and the coordinator’s firing.
Entering the transfer portal meant a shift, but Jackson Arnold understood he was set to deal with change and competition regardless.
“Fourth offensive coordinator in three years, whether (staying) at OU or (going), you weigh that, and a lot of the offensive coordinators, when they come from a program, they bring the quarterback with them,” Todd Arnold said. “It's just the reality of where we're at today in the transfer portal.”
Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle joined the Sooners on Dec. 4 with Jackson Arnold entering the portal two days later, and redshirt junior quarterback John Mateer announced his commitment to OU on Dec. 18. The Arbuckle-Mateer duo was set to take on a new conference as Jackson Arnold was headed elsewhere.
“I had one conversation with Jackson,” Arbuckle said. “He was great; he’s super respectful. But that's really about where it ended.”
‘Very comforting’
With Jackson Arnold set to leave OU, his agent put together a comprehensive report on prospective teams before the portal opened. Auburn stood out, and the Arnold family quickly communicated with the Tiger coaches.
“We already had information that was put together by his agent of his fit in all Power Four schools. … When he decided to go and visit Auburn, Auburn was basically where he had already talked to the coaches that week leading up to his official visit, and we jumped at the opportunity to go and visit as quickly as possible,” Todd Arnold said.
On the visit, the Arnold family resonated with Auburn quarterback coach Kent Austin, who has over 30 years of playing and coaching experience. Austin, a former quarterback at the University of Mississippi, had stints in the Canadian Football League as a head coach in 2013-17 and the University of Mississippi as an offensive coordinator in 2008. While coaching at the University of Mississippi, Austin led the offense to its biggest turnaround since 1947, finishing 9-4 after 3-8 the previous year.
“The biggest impression on me was the quarterback coach, and he and I talked for a long time. … He had a wealth of knowledge and mainly that revolves around the position of quarterback,” Todd Arnold said. “We talked, and his demeanor is a lot like Jackson. He's just very reserved. He's very calm, and Jackson hit it off with him.
The Auburn coaches and Jackson Arnold spent 30-45 minutes together in the film room during the visit, and the quarterback quickly understood their schemes.
“It was a very comforting feeling because we sat in film, and they let Jackson break down a bunch of their plays that they ran last year,” Todd Arnold said. “They were asking him, … (and) he rattled it off exactly how they teach it.”
‘Persevering’
Three games through at Auburn, the comfort has translated to success. Jackson Arnold has thrown for 501 yards and ran for 192, and the Tigers have gotten off to a 3-0 start and earned themselves the No. 22 spot in the AP Poll.
According to Todd Arnold, it has been a simple adjustment for his son.
“He knows (head) coach (Hugh) Freeze’s philosophy and how he wants him to run his offense, and it's very similar to what he had learned from coach Lebby,” Todd Arnold said. “A lot of the terminology is similar, so it was an easy install for him this spring. He said it's the easiest install he's had.”
As for Venables, rather than frustration, the Sooner coach praised the quarterback’s success recently.
"Jackson Arnold is completing 70% of his passes, averaging 167 yards a game, four touchdowns, no interceptions, no turnovers at all and ran for just under 150 yards against Baylor," Venables said. "He's playing really, really well. (Auburn’s) got tremendous talent.”
Amid Jackson Arnold prospering at Auburn, the Tiger quarterback has also maintained a great friendship with Gabriel. The two still talk often, and Gabriel, who played at the University of Central Florida and Oregon in addition to OU, has helped Jackson Arnold in his journey.
“They call each other and text back and forth. … Dillon (Gabriel) was good for him when he was at OU. Dillon tells him to stay off social media, and he's been good,” Todd Arnold said. “Dillon’s played in a lot of places, played a lot of snaps, and he was really good with passing on whatever knowledge he had to Jackson.”
As Jackson Arnold’s Sooner past still resonates, the Auburn quarterback’s journey comes full circle on Saturday, with him ready to showcase his growth.
“Jackson, he didn't want to have the year he had last year; he didn't want to get benched,” Todd Arnold said. “But I think the struggle and the coming to terms with a few of the things and learning from it and persevering, for his journey, may be for his benefit.”
Chelsea Low, Gretchen Schultz and Avery Avery copy edited this story.
