Hugh Freeze blames OU for Jackson Arnold’s struggles

There's no argument quarterback Jackson Arnold struggled last season for the Oklahoma Sooners, but some are still divided on why.

Arnold transferred to the Auburn Tigers this offseason after not living up to the hype as a five-star recruit at OU. The Sooners were historically bad offensively last season while shuffling QBs, suffering plethora injuries at receiver, experiencing poor pass blocking and firing offensive coordinator Seth Littrell six games in.

While on SEC Network during SEC Media Days, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze pointed to those issues for Arnold's struggles last year and sounds confident in a turnaround with the Tigers.

"They had a ton of injuries that I think really affected the play around Jackson," Freeze said. "And three different coordinators. That rattled his confidence. I think that's what he needed was just a confidence rebuild and a reset. And I think our receivers have helped him feel confident throughout spring practice. Knowing that I believe in him and our staff believes in him I think is what he needed to reset."

Freeze says at SEC Media Days Arnold's situation at OU influenced his performance

Arnold himself also commented on his new situation during an SEC Network interview.

"I knew the situation I was walking into was going to make it ideal for me," Arnold said. "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."

Arnold went into the 2024 season as OU's for-sure QB1 as a sophomore. He ultimately started nine games while freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. got four starts over Arnold. Arnold was benched against Tennessee in OU's fourth game of the season.

Ironically, Hawkins made his first start against Auburn, so Arnold has never actually played against his new team as he watched from the sidelines last year. Arnold then got the job back and started OU's final five games of the regular season before entering the Transfer Portal.

Arnold finished with 1,421 passing yards and 12 touchdowns with 444 rushing yards and three more scores. He averaged only 142.1 passing yards a game.

While shuffling between Arnold and Hawkins, OU was also without its five best receivers most of the season because of injury and the Sooners' offensive line was one of the worst in the country. The Sooners then swapped offensive coordinators midway through to add to the nightmare.

"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."

The counterargument to Freeze is that maybe Arnold wasn't worth the hype after all. The truth isn't as fun, but it's probably both as Arnold was underwhelming and in a terrible situation. Regardless, it was already a point at SEC Media Days and will be throughout the 2025 season. And those comparisons will peak when Arnold and the Tigers visit OU on Sept. 20 for the Sooners' SEC opener.

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