Jackson Arnold dishes on offseason and Sooners’ prep for 2024
Spring ball is less than a month away in Norman, and it'll mark the official dawn of the Jackson Arnold era. After starting the final game of the 2023 campaign in relief of the departed Dillon Gabriel, Arnold will take the reins for good in 2024 and beyond.
The rising sophomore, a former five-star recruit, has a decorated resume that includes Gatorade National Player of the Year honors as a high school senior in 2022. Even so, the jury is admittedly still out on Arnold's effectiveness at the collegiate level — he committed four turnovers in his lone start as Oklahoma fell 38-24 to Arizona in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Though that performance left a sour taste in the collective mouth of the Sooner faithful, Arnold has approached the offseason with an eagerness to render that streaky starting debut a mere footnote in his story.
On Monday, Arnold attended the grand opening of the Young Family Athletic Center in Norman, where he sat down for an exclusive interview with Tyler McComas and Teddy Lehman of KREF. Arnold began the interview by reminiscing on bowl preparation with recently anointed offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, who assumed playcalling duties after Jeff Lebby left Oklahoma to take the head coaching job at Mississippi State in November.
“It was definitely weird at first, just having to switch coaches for three weeks," Arnold admitted. "But I was already close with Coach Finley and Coach Littrell, so the transition… it wasn’t awkward for me or uncomfortable or anything. We all bonded and jelled quickly. And obviously, the bowl game wasn’t what we hoped it [would] be, but I think we’re going to go hard this offseason and get after it.”
The ballyhooed Texas native had seen situational action in five games prior to the Alamo Bowl, and with Gabriel on the shelf due to a head injury, Arnold had actually played the entire second half in a late-season road win over BYU. But his outing against Arizona could best be described as a mixed bag; the good included two beautiful touchdown passes and the bad included a pair of highly avoidable interceptions. With eight months to review his miscues before stepping back on the field in a game situation, Arnold is keeping a level head and has a steadfast commitment to correcting those errors.
“Yeah, regardless of the outcomes of the games or my performances last year, I’m really grateful for the opportunities I was given," he expressed. "I think it’s big for me, being the age I am and in the position I am right now, to have those game reps and get that beneath me — have that one bad game and flush it away and learn from it. Whether it’s being more decisive in my game or playing fast or pushing the tempo of our offense or just being a leader in general, those are all things I need to work on this offseason. I think playing in that game and having those reps was huge for me.”
Come the fall, Oklahoma will dive headfirst into SEC competition with a receiving corps as talented as any in the country, which affords Arnold great luxury as the distributor of the pigskin. Purdue transfer Deion Burks adds additional firepower to a room that also includes established stars Jalil Farooq, Andrel Anthony and Nic Anderson, as well as towering mismatch Jayden Gibson.
“I feel great," said Arnold of his weaponry. "We’ve been throwing a lot over these past couple of weeks. Getting used to throwing with some of these new guys, whether it’s Deion or new freshmen coming in. Just getting acclimated to everybody, and the same with the O-linemen too. All the new guys we got coming in, it’s been crucial these past couple weeks to kind of meet them and know them on a personal level and kind of bond with them and start to get things rolling before spring ball starts up in a couple weeks.”
Burks brings breakaway speed and precise route-running to the table for Oklahoma; he's coming off a campaign in which he recorded 629 yards and seven touchdowns for the Boilermakers. At the time of his commitment to Oklahoma, Rivals had Burks ranked as the No. 1 wide receiver in the NCAA transfer portal.
“He’s a great dude, full of energy and always smiling," said Arnold of the 5-foot-11, 195-pound speedster. "And he’s working hard. We had competitions this morning; you can tell he’s just working his butt off. He loves to be here, he loves to play the game, he loves to grind. I’ve been super impressed with him so far.”
Beyond the aforementioned contributors at wide receiver, a major X-factor could be Brenen Thompson, who hauled in a 63-yard touchdown bomb from Arnold in the Alamo Bowl. Thompson sat out the first four games of 2023 with a lingering injury and was only used sporadically thereafter, yet when his number was called, he made his opportunities count. The West Texas product recorded just seven total receptions on the year, but four of those grabs covered more than 35 yards.
Last week, 247Sports released a list of the top 10 fastest players in college football, a list that conspicuously omitted Thompson. When pressed for his take on Thompson's snub, Arnold affirmed that the 5-foot-8 lightning rod is as fleet of foot as anyone in the game.
“That actually surprises me that you say he wasn’t on that list," Arnold remarked. "Like, that’s genuinely the fastest guy I’ve seen in person by far. We had the touchdown play to Brenen in-game, and all week — and I guess a couple weeks before when we were practicing — Coach Littrell goes, ‘Throw that thing as far as you can. Throw it with some air and let Brenen run under it.’ And sure enough, it came to fruition. But yeah, that’s one of the fastest dudes I’ve been around. Shocks me he wasn’t on that list.”
Meanwhile, the Sooners made major offseason moves to complement their strong passing attack with a bolstered backfield. Gavin Sawchuk closed the 2023 campaign with five straight 100-yard performances, and sits atop the pecking order heading into his junior season. Jovantae Barnes and Kalib Hicks are the other returning members of the committee, but the Sooners also added prolific Tennessee-Martin transfer Sam Franklin and a pair of highly regarded freshmen. Taylor Tatum was the country's No. 1 running back in the 2024 cycle, while local pickup Xavier Robinson enjoyed one of the most productive prep careers in the history of the state.
“Compared to last year, it’s a lot more bodies," said Arnold. "We brought in three new guys. Taylor’s not up here yet, but Sam and X are up here right now. And it’s a lot of bodies; it’s a well-rounded group. You got some big guys — X is a really big guy — and you’ve got super fast guys like Sam, Sawchuk, Jovantae. And all these guys are getting reps; they’re all looking good right now. We’re not doing anything team-related right now, so I’m not seeing them in their full potential or in their element. But it’s a well-rounded group right now, and I’m impressed so far.”
Offensively, the only major question for Oklahoma is the trench play, as the Sooners will have to replace all five starters on the line heading into next season. Right guard McKade Mettauer and left tackle Walter Rouse graduated, while center Andrew Raym and right tackle Tyler Guyton left school early for the NFL draft and left guard Cayden Green infamously transferred to Missouri under dubious circumstances. Despite the significant turnover, Arnold is confident in Bill Bedenbaugh's ability to piece together a strong offensive line. Transfer acquisitions Febechi Nwaiwu, Michael Tarquin, Spencer Brown and Geirean Hatchett will be crucial cogs in the machine, and rising juniors Jacob Sexton and Troy Everett have copious starting experience.
“If you look at it on paper, we’ve got a really, really good squad," said Arnold of the line. "A lot of potential on the O-line, and I think the biggest thing for them is just kind of getting in the playbook. Understanding everything, understanding how Coach B coaches and how they can learn from him, and just jelling with each other. The O-line’s probably the closest group out of any position group in our locker room, in my opinion. I love them. They’re awesome. It could be 5:30 in the morning, and they’re cutting up and laughing in the locker room, which blows my mind that it’s that early and they’re doing that. But for them, it’s just getting comfortable with each other, getting used to being around each other and playing with each other and ultimately learning the playbook.”
The Sooner faithful will get their first glimpse at the new-look offense come Apr. 20, when Oklahoma holds its spring game. Arnold will naturally command the most attention, but it'll also provide fans the opportunity to get a first look at gifted freshman signal-callers Michael Hawkins and Brendan Zurbrugg.
Oklahoma's over/under win total in Las Vegas for the 2024 campaign is currently 7.5.
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