Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma's starting quarterback for much of the 2024 season, will stay in the SEC. After entering the transfer portal earlier this month, Arnold committed to play for Hugh Freeze and Auburn on Saturday morning.
"So why Auburn? It's Pay Dye Field. It's Jordan-Hare Stadium. It's the Tiger Walk. It's the eagle flight. It's rolling Toomer's Corner," Arnold said in a video released by Auburn announcing the QB's signing. "This place is special and there's no other place I want to be. I believe in Auburn and love it. My name is Jackson Arnold and I'm an Auburn Tiger. War damn eagle."
Special things happening on The Plains 🦅
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) December 14, 2024
Welcome 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄, @_JacksonArnold_!
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“The fit he is for our offense and for Auburn, I couldn’t be more excited,” Freeze said. “He’s a dual-threat guy who understands the RPO system extremely well and throws the deep ball extremely well.
“His deep ball has been very accurate. Didn’t throw a ton this year because they dealt with injuries at his previous school, so he didn’t have a lot of shots but going back and watching all his Elite 11 and high school competition, he throws the deep ball as well as you see at most any level.”
Arnold was a composite five-star recruit and the No. 8 quarterback in the class of 2023. After sitting behind Dillon Gabriel for his true freshman season, he began the year as Oklahoma's 2024 starter. Arnold played in 10 games for OU this season, completing 62.6% of his passes for 1,421 yards, 12 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He was relatively safe with the ball, but averaged a pedestrian 5.8 yards per attempt.
As Freeze mentioned, Oklahoma dealt with significant wide receiver injury issues throughout the year, which impacted Arnold's effectiveness. The Sooners turned to true freshman QB Michael Hawkins Jr. for a chunk of the season, including OU's 27–21 win over Auburn.
Arnold ultimately took back the reins of the offense, and led the team to its 24–3 win over Alabama, though he did most of his damage on the ground. Arnold was 9-for-11 for 68 yards, added 25 carries for a game-high 131 yards.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Auburn Lands Former 5-Star SEC Starting QB in Transfer Portal.
