Arnold eyes fresh start after 'rock bottom' at OU

ATLANTA -- Nine months after hitting "rock bottom" when he was benched at Oklahoma, Jackson Arnold said he's poised to write a much different story this season at Auburn.

The former five-star recruit called last year's struggles with the Sooners "part of the journey" and said he has no regrets about his time in Norman, but his fresh start at Auburn has him feeling far more confident about the future.

"I knew the situation I was walking into was going to make it ideal for me," said Arnold, ESPN's No. 3 overall recruit in the 2023 class who was 5-5 as a starting quarterback in two seasons at Oklahoma. "It was almost easy this spring throwing to those guys. For me, all I've got to do is be a point guard and just distribute the ball."

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze echoed the fit, but he said landing Arnold in the transfer portal wasn't immediately an easy choice.

"I thought he was the best player coming out [of high school], but so did everybody else," Freeze said. "So you have to ask, what happened?"

Freeze did a deep dive on Arnold's 2024 campaign, which included 12 TD passes, 3 interceptions and 3 games on the bench.

Freeze concluded that Arnold was protected by a shaky offensive line, had five receivers out with injuries and was on his third offensive coordinator.

It wasn't that Arnold was perfect aside from his supporting cast, Freeze said, but he watched every throw the former top prospect made last season and saw enough flashes of the elite arm, quick hips and efficient delivery to be convinced that this guy still had a high ceiling.

"You combine all that with what I knew from high school and that he fits my ball-in-the-belly system and his mechanics and flipping his hips and getting the ball out fast," Freeze said. "Jackson's really good at that."

Arnold didn't want to point fingers for any of his struggles at Oklahoma, but what was clear by year's end in 2024 is he was ready for a fresh start.

After a 25-15 loss to Tennessee in September, Arnold was benched in favor of freshman Michael Hawkins, only to regain the starting job a month later. That, according to Arnold, was a turning point.

"It was tough, but it was a pivotal point in my life where you flip a switch and something wakes up inside you that makes you push and work a little harder," Arnold said. "It was a combination of a bunch of things. Everything that could go wrong went wrong last year. It's just part of the journey and something that had to happen to get me on this track now.

"I'm not going to blame anything on my play last year, but I feel like now I'm in a situation where I can go out and thrive."

Arnold said he was sold on Auburn almost instantly, believing he was an ideal fit for Freeze's system, and he sees a scenario where his career arc matches up perfectly with a Tigers program that has endured its share of frustrations.

"I feel like we're going to prove everybody wrong and show what I'm about and what the Auburn Tigers are about," Arnold said. "I've never put lower expectations on myself because of one bad season. I'm still extremely confident in myself. I think we can win every game on our schedule. We have the talent to do that. We just have to put our money where our mouth is and go out there and execute.

"I've got so much more to prove and you put us together and put that chip on our shoulder, it's a great match and it can be a great story."