Turns out that the universe granted Jackson Arnold his wish. After all, the quarterback felt in the wrong place in Brent Venables’ Oklahoma. Now that he has got his dream team, Hugh Freeze’s Auburn fans are expecting Arnold to gift a turnaround season. With this, the quarterback got featured in ‘Rece and Pete’s sleeper QBs for the ‘25 CFB season.’
Analyst Rece Davis had good enough reasons to be hopeful about Arnold pulling off a blockbuster season. He stated, “Watch out for Jackson Arnold. Very talented guy at Auburn. They’ve got a very good young receiving core and they are probably and there is some pressure to produce offensively and win there. So he would be my sleeper.” But looks like this is one side of the coin. On the other side? Looks like Arnold will be caught up in another bad house. Courtesy? Freeze’s troubled past.
On the August 13 episode of the TexAgs podcast, Brooks Austin shares how Arnold was a great player back in high school. He stated, “So like even dating back to his high school tape, if you go watch and that’s his tape. That’s his highlight tape. That’s not what you know every game looks like. That’s the best version of himself that he presents to the world. If you go even watch his high school highlight tape, there’s not a lot of working through the progression. Big dog.” But things eventually turned left for the quarterback as he stepped into college.
Arnold will take some time to get over his Oklahoma chapter. After all, getting over the trauma of being sacked 34 times is no joke. The 2022 national high school player of the year in Denton, Texas, felt like a fish out of the water in Venables’ squad. On top of that, he did not receive any help from the wide receiver room. For example, against Tennessee, Arnold struggled in the first half, going 7-of-16 with 54 passing yards and an interception. But if he thinks that one switch to Freeze’s program will restore his luck, here comes a reality check.
Austin shed light on the Auburn head coach’s past records. He shared, “When Jackson Arnold throws an interception to cost them a football game in the fourth quarter, which he will, by the way, cause Hugh Freeze’s offense have lost the turnover battle 12 of his 13 years coaching. Hugh Freeze’s offenses have turned the ball over 25 plus times, eight of 13 seasons coaching football. They’re going to turn it over. He’s going to be negative towards Jackson… So, that’s always been my concern about Hugh Freeze.”
While the quarterback names kept changing in the Tigers’ squad from Bo Wallace, Payton Thorne, this continued. The only person Freeze didn’t do it to was Kaidon Salter. While Arnold now might question his Auburn flip, here comes some motivation for him.
Rick Neuheisel’s bold call for Jackson Arnold
The 2024 season has been a dud for Auburn when it came to their quarterback position. This time, Freeze did not take any risk and straightaway signed three quarterbacks. Transfers Arnold and Ashton Daniels and high school recruit Deuce Knight. While Arnold has already picked up the buzz of holding the QB1 torch, here comes some more motivational boost for the quarterback.
And what’s better than coming from a former five-star turned analyst? CBS Sports analyst Rick Neuheisel not only thinks Arnold will be the top newcomer at Auburn, but also in the entire country. He justified his bold claim, stating, “The reason I’m so long on his chances to be successful [in Auburn] is that Hugh Freeze needs him to be so successful there.”
Arnold’s loyalist further added, “So, there’s a bond, immediately, there between coach and quarterback, and [Freeze is] a quarterback-friendly guy. I think Jackson Arnold is going to have a heck of an impact on War Eagle nation.” This was, in a way was doubled down by Cole Cubelic on his podcast.
Well, Jackson Arnold was caught under the shackles of a defensive-minded coach, Brent Venables. As the analyst noted, “I am not trying to rip anybody, I’m not trying to drag another coach, but that’s accurate. The mindset of the defensive-minded coach usually he is, ‘Don’t screw this up, don’t make a mistake, don’t hurt a position, don’t turn the ball over here.’ As opposed to now, it’s ‘Attack, attack. Go get it, make this happen, make this throw, make this play, and I imagine Greg, for a quarterback, is a huge relief.” Arnold’s newfound freedom in Auburn could be the lift he needs to reach the stratosphere of his game.
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