Coaches, teammates sound off on Jackson Arnold's second-half relief outing
Jackson Arnold might not have set the world on fire on Saturday afternoon. The final stat line is modest: 5-of-9 through the air for 33 passing yards, plus an additional 24 yards on eight carries.
But in a pinch, the Sooners' ballyhooed true freshman quarterback did exactly what he needed to do to keep his team alive in the race for a Big 12 title berth.
Pressed into action after Dillon Gabriel's second-quarter head injury, Arnold helped Oklahoma hold off an upset bid from unranked BYU, playing the entire second half at the helm of the Sooner offense in an eventual 31-24 victory. Perhaps rattled by a raucous crowd at Lavell Edwards Stadium, Arnold fumbled a snap and missed a couple of throws in the early stages of his outing, but eventually settled in and led two pivotal fourth-quarter drives to put the game on ice.
Perhaps his most impressive moment of the day came in the most crucial moment of the day. Faced with third-and-7 on the game's final possession, Arnold audibled out of the play call and hit Jalil Farooq in man coverage to move the sticks, allowing Oklahoma to run out the clock and preserve the win.
After the game, Arnold's teammates and coaches were effusive in their praise of the former five-star recruit, but also maintained that his performance was no particular shock.
Just loved his toughness and his effort, his leadership, his calmness on the phone between series when things weren't great for him and finding a way. That's what I loved more than anything. There's so many young guys that would've gotten into that situation and not done what he did on the last drive, making the plays with his feet and then the last throw and catch to win it. Man, proud of him.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby
We have full faith in Jackson. He’s a tremendous quarterback and he did what he needed to do. He had a huge throw on that third-and-7 to Jalil. That was him checking into zero pressure, making the right read.
LB Danny Stutsman
My first thought was I wasn’t worried. I mean, I’ve seen him at practice for months and months and months and he throws a great ball, he knows what to do, he’s always prepared, always knows the game plan, and that’s what’s important is him always being ready for his moment... I mean we just kind of said, like, ‘Hey, we got your back. We’re rallying around you. Like, receivers, we’re gonna be wide open for you so it’s easy for you. Like, O-line, we’re gonna make it comfortable for you back there. Running backs, we’re gonna pick up all blitzes, and we’re gonna run the ball hard to get you in good manageable situations.’ And basically just telling him we got his back, just like he’s got our back, because we’re a team and we’re brothers and we ride together.
WR Drake Stoops
It’s tough for sure. Coming into the game, you don’t think you’re going to play. You sit there and watch the game, and be ready for opportunity when it does happen. But you don’t think you’re going to play. Especially this many weeks into the season. But he was ready when this opportunity came. Everybody supported him, had his back, no matter what. And he made some great plays out there. Proud of the way he stepped up and led the team. I knew he’d be ready for the job when it did come. So we trusted him, and he was.
RB Gavin Sawchuk
Me and J-10 go together all the time in practice. So when I found out he was going in, I was just going over there to support him and tell him, ‘We’ve got your back.’ He’s been ready for this. Been practicing hard. He takes all his two reps like he’s a one. So we had no worries about that at all. I think he played great. I think he came in and delivered and got us the victory, and that’s all that matters. And he’s gonna continue to get way, way better than he already is.
WR Jayden Gibson
What I remember is when he threw that ball to Nic Anderson in the Tulsa game. I mean, there was nothing that I saw about an inexperienced guy. It was a perfect ball. So when he came in there, we weren’t worried about anything. We did our best to give him a good pocket and not rush or put any unneeded stress on him. But I think he did a good job.
OL McKade Mettauer
He’s put the work in and the moment wasn’t too big for him. The players around him, they knew that too. As I told him in the locker room, [it’s] unfortunate for Dillon, but what a great example. You’re the backup quarterback — true freshman, so sometimes they’re young and immature. Jackson’s not. But it’d be easy [to] not be prepared for the moment late this season. ‘I haven’t played yet. They’re gonna redshirt me’. That’s not how he operates. He’s a winner. He’s got tremendous courage and a belief in himself in the guys around him and trust in the system. Great job just executing. Doing a lot of little things, making it look easy.
Head coach Brent Venables
Venables and Lebby had previously stated they hoped to redshirt Arnold, but the freshman signal-caller's appearance in Provo will cost him a year of eligibility. The NCAA stipulates that a player can redshirt if he plays in no more than four games, but Saturday marked Arnold's fifth appearance of the season. Asked about his redshirt status after the game, Arnold maintained that he's not concerned about losing a year, saying, "The talk with me and Coach Leb was if something happened, like something freak happened today, I would be going in. I’ve prepared the same way the entire year."
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