EULESS, Texas - For quite some time Oklahoma fans have had a high level of familiarity with their quarterback commitments by the time their senior year began. After a strange last six months the Sooners find themselves in new territory, in many different ways, but yet again find themselves landing one of the nation's top signal callers in Denton (Texas) Guyer star Jackson Arnold, the nation's No. 8 pro-style quarterback.
He put his talents on display at Sunday's Elite 11 regional event at Euless Trinity high school and SoonerScoop.com was on hand to take it all in.
Not surprisingly Arnold performed well enough to take home one of two national Elite 11 invitations thanks to his impressive work.
The most notable of that good work came when Arnold was working in run-pass option scenarios and various other throws that had him on the move or throwing off platform or schedule.
Arnold throws a very catchable ball and has the arm to make all of the throws necessary and showed some really nice timing and placement on out routes.
His easy athleticism and quick, repeatable, motion made him one of the camps real standouts and allowed him to flash an abundance of college-ready tools.
As one onlooker said, "he is always so under control, he looks like it is all part of the plan."
If there is one thing that Arnold took away from the camp, and something he spoke about afterward, that needs improvement it is his management of playing from under center. As mentioned, the nation's No. 66 overall prospect, looked cleanest when doing things he's done for years in the Guyer offense which does not include a lot of snaps from underneath the center. As that part of his game solidifies or, more to the point, becomes more familiar, there's plenty of room for his growth.
In short, Arnold has great feet, natural athleticism, a quality arm, and such a nice feel for moving around while keeping his eyes downfield that it is easy to see why Jeff Lebby and the Sooners were so excited to reel him in early on.
NOTES:
*It was a star-studded group of receivers with Peyton Bowen, Ashton Cozart, and Mikal Harrison-Pilot all on hand helping out various quarterbacks at the event. Bowen came with his teammate Arnold and though his future is in the secondary he showed ball skills that will have a number of secondary coaches excited.
Meanwhile Cozart reminds somewhat of former Sooner five-star Theo Wease with his work up the field and how quick-footed he is out in space.
Finally, it was our first time to get a look at Harrison-Pilot who is a powerfully built receiver and has the twitch to work down field. He's an interesting body type that actually reminds me quite a bit of former Sooner Brandon Jones.
**Though not a Sooner target the best quarterback on the day was Dripping Springs, Texas Rivals250 quarterback Austin Novosad. Aside from nearly destroying a SoonerScoop.com camera from a high-velocity out route it's hard to find anything Novosad did that wasn't impressive. He's got different velocity than just about anyone on hand but even with that big arm showed good accuracy and timing. As his feel for different routes improves his timing will only get better and better. He's got considerable upside.
***Finally, it's a long way off but when a soon to be freshman from one of the country's elite programs for quarterback production, Austin (Texas) Westlake, starts impressing some of the nation's elite receivers you have to mention it. 2026 quarterback Rees Wise showed off unusual size and arm strength and made some throws that had Harrison-Pilot, Cozart and a few others asking who he was and if he was actually a freshman. In short? Wise has the physical tools to play for a lot of schools this fall.