Jackson Arnold needed to leave Oklahoma. And not for the benefit of the Sooners
News broke Wednesday that Arnold, OU's starting quarterback most of this season, is planning to enter the transfer portal once it officially opens on Monday. It really wasn't much of a surprise after Arnold struggled and was benched at one point this season, and with Brent Venables hiring a new offensive coordinator on Monday who could also be bringing a quarterback with him.
Arnold came to OU as a highly coveted five-star recruit from Denton, Texas, and was expected to become the face of the storied program entering a new era of the SEC. Expectations to be a great quarterback at OU are nearly unreachable, though, with four former QBs having their own statue outside the stadium and five could be starting in the NFL any given Sunday.
Regardless of outlandish expectations, Arnold was expected to be the next one in bronze to greet OU fans on Saturdays. And it seemed as if those expectations were immediate during a day of sports when NFL quarterbacks can be considered wash before they're even 25.
On his 19th birthday, the Jackson Arnold transition began when he replaced Dillon Gabriel in a blowout against Arkansas State in the Sooners' 2023 season opener. He promptly went 11-of-11 for 114 yards and a touchdown, plus a rushing TD and 39 rushing yards. He was Baker Mayfield with no chip on the shoulder but five stars.
All of a sudden, those already lofty expectations were dwarfed compared to the hype after the preview. OU fans couldn't wait to see Jackson Arnold as the Sooners' quarterback. And neither could the coaches.
The honeymoon phase was over. The rest of his freshman campaign, Arnold threw 13 passes before starting in the Alamo Bowl. Only 13 pass attempts while backing up a solid veteran, yet Arnold was sent out there enough to burn his redshirt.
In his fifth appearance against TCU that ultimately burned his redshirt, the only stat Arnold recorded was 2-yard loss when he took a knee to run out the clock. The OU staff threw away an entire year of eligibility for the presumed future of their program to hand the ball off a few times during a 69-45 win.
Arnold then started against Arizona in the Alamo Bowl after Gabriel headed to the transfer portal. It was his sixth appearance, although this one wouldn't have counted as his fifth since it was a postseason contest.
Against one of the best defenses OU faced all season, with a brand new playcaller and without three starting offensive linemen, Arnold turned the ball over five times (three interceptions, two fumbles) in the loss.
When the dust settled and Arnold was still set to take over the offense in 2024, it would be as a sophomore and without the offensive coordinator who recruited him with Jeff Lebby becoming the head coach at Mississippi State.
Arnold then got four starts (five career) before getting benched in OU's SEC opener against one of the best defensive fronts in the country. The entire OU offense had been abysmal to that point, but the five-star guy throwing the football took the fall for it.
Shockingly (sarcasm), the freshman, Michael Hawkins Jr., was also unable to succeed with what he was given to work with. Arnold was QB1 again only weeks later when he replaced Hawkins in the first quarter of Hawkins' third career start.
Arnold was working without his top five wide receivers and behind a constantly shuffling and banged up offensive line that was breaking program sack records.
By Week 9, the offense was so terrible that Venables fired Seth Littrell after only eight games calling plays, including that Alamo Bowl loss.
Credit Joe Jon Finley, though, for stepping in and at least giving Arnold a chance to do something. There was not going to be a successful passing game with a depleted receivers group and struggling offensive line. Finley realized that.
Even in that situation, Arnold still had the skillset to find some success, leading OU in rushing yards the final two games of the season. He was blamed for a stagmant offense, yet was the reason it functioned at all at the end.
There was the impatience leading to wasting a redshirt and year of eligibility for a budding star. There was the three different coordinators to play under in only two seasons. And one of those wasn't even a real quarterbacks coach trying to develop Arnold in what he could become.
There was no help for Arnold -- a hobbled, shuffling offensive line and the five best receivers on the team on the sidelines.
Arnold's two years at OU, like his redshirt, was a waste for him and a waste for the Sooners.