Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: Sooners land 4-star, highly recruited QB for 2023

By Chip Rouse

Oct 12, 2019; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners fans hold up the number one prior to the game against the Texas Longhorns at Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 12, 2019; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners fans hold up the number one prior to the game against the Texas Longhorns at Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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The sun came up big and bright in Norman, Oklahoma, on Monday, the perfect backdrop for the Oklahoma football recruiting news that would shortly follow.

Four-star quarterback prospect Jackson Arnold announced his commitment to Oklahoma for 2023. Arnold, rated by ESPN as the No. 2 quarterback prospect in the 2023 class behind Arch Manning, is the third quarterback to commit to the Sooners after the coaching changeover from Lincoln Riley to Brent Venables.

Arnold is classified as a pro-style quarterback, but he has shown he is more that capable of making big plays with his legs.

This past season. the 6-foot, 2-inch, 190-pound Arnold led his Guyer High School team to the Texas 6A DII State Championship as a junior. He completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,921 yards and 34 touchdowns. And as for his ability to escape the pocket and take off with the ball, Arnold was credited with 659 rushing yards and an additional 12 touchdowns.

New Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby had established a relationship with Arnold while he was in the same role at Ole Miss. He made an offer on the elite quarterback prospect fairly quickly after taking the job at OU.

Arnold chose Oklahoma over offers from a number of major programs, including Alabama, LSU, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida and Ole Miss.

The Sooners approach to quarterback recruiting is different from Riley’s methodology. Riley would target the top quarterback in the class — five-stars Spencer Rattler in 2019, Caleb Williams in 2021 and Malachi Nelson in 2023 — but only target a top quarterback every other year.

Since the coaching change at Oklahoma, Venables and Lebby have added Dillon Gabriel through the transfer portal for the coming season and perhaps one or two more after that, signed 2022 dual-threat, four-star prospect Nick Evers, and today, of course, earned the commitment from Arnold for 2023. Evers and Arnold are both out of the state of Texas.

Arnold joins four-star wide receiver DeAndre Moore and interior offensive lineman Joshua Bates in the Sooners’ 2023 class.

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