Auburn football landed its next quarterback on Saturday, as the program announced former Oklahoma signal caller Jackson Arnold has signed with the Tigers.
Arnold, one of the top-ranked players in the transfer portal, left the Sooners after two seasons after they hired Washington State’s Ben Arbuckle as their new offensive coordinator. Arnold is set to replace Payton Thorne, who struggled at times across two seasons as Auburn’s starter.
“The fit he is for our offense and for Auburn, I couldn’t be more excited,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said in the announcement. “He’s a dual-threat guy who understands the RPO system extremely well and throws the deep ball extremely well.”
Arnold started nine games for Oklahoma after briefly losing the job after its 25-15 loss to Tennessee in its SEC opener. He completed 154 of 246 passes (62.6%) for 1,421 yards with 12 touchdowns to six interceptions this season, adding 444 yards with three touchdowns on the ground.
Auburn hopes Arnold’s struggles in 2024 were an anomaly, as he was one of the most highly regarded recruits out of high school and was the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2022-23. In Arnold’s defense, Oklahoma had one of the worst offenses in Power Four this season, with numerous receivers injured and a patchwork offensive line that mostly struggled to protect the talented quarterback.
The Denton, Texas, native did, however, have a fantastic performance in Oklahoma’s 24-3 upset win over Alabama this season, rushing 25 times for 131 yards along with completing 9 of 11 passes for 68 yards. It was the Sooners’ best performance offensively of the season, and helped them keep their bowl eligibility streak alive, which has lasted since 1999.
The 6-foot-1 quarterback was the No. 8-ranked player nationally and No. 4 quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class, and Auburn will hope to help him regain his form as its likely starting quarterback in 2025.
Arnold ultimately chose Auburn over Mississippi State, where the offensive coordinator who recruited him, Jeff Lebby, is now the head coach.