Oklahoma transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold has signed with Auburn, the school announced Saturday.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound sophomore has two more seasons of eligibility. He is making a move within the SEC to help lead a turnaround for the Tigers following a 5-7 season in Hugh Freeze’s second year.
Freeze secured the commitment from his top target during an official visit that began Thursday, three days after Arnold entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal.
The Denton, Texas, native was the No. 3 overall recruit in the class of 2023 and the Gatorade National Player of the Year as a senior. He is the No. 4 quarterback in ESPN’s transfer rankings.
“The fit he is for our offense and for Auburn, I couldn’t be more excited,” Freeze said in a statement. “He’s a dual-threat guy who understands the RPO system extremely well and throws the deep ball extremely well.”
Serving as Dillon Gabriel’s backup during his freshman season, Arnold took over as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback ahead of its Alamo Bowl loss to Arizona last December after Gabriel transferred to Oregon, and he started 10 games for the Sooners.
Arnold produced 1,421 passing yards, 444 rushing yards, 15 total touchdowns and 3 interceptions during a challenging season for the quarterback and the program. The preseason No. 16 Sooners went 6-6 in their first year in the SEC and 2-6 in conference games.
During Oklahoma’s first SEC game, against Tennessee, Arnold was benched by coach Brent Venables before halftime after three first-half turnovers. Freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. replaced him to finish the 25-15 loss, and Venables named him the starter with the hope that Hawkins “will give us a better chance moving forward.”
Arnold did not play in the Sooners’ 27-21 comeback road win at Auburn the following week, nor did he appear in their 34-3 loss to then-No. 1 Texas in the Red River Rivalry. But when Hawkins turned it over three times in the first quarter the next week against South Carolina, Venables went back to Arnold as his starter for the rest of the season.
Arnold had a difficult time playing up to expectations in an offense that struggled with injuries and inconsistency throughout the season.
Oklahoma relied on eight different starting lineup combinations along its offensive line over 12 games, and its projected top five wide receivers — Deion Burks, Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq, Andrel Anthony and Jayden Gibson — missed significant time due to injuries. Anderson, Farooq and Anthony have since entered the transfer portal.
The Sooners averaged 21.2 points per game against FBS opponents, second fewest among SEC teams, and finished among the bottom 10 in the FBS in yards per play (4.8), yards per pass attempt (6.1) and sacks allowed (46).
Despite those problems, Oklahoma still managed to stun then-No. 7 Alabama in its home finale, a 24-3 rout that ended up knocking the Crimson Tide out of the first 12-team edition of the College Football Playoff.
Arnold rushed for a career-high 131 yards on 25 carries and had 68 passing yards on 9-of-11 passing in the victory, which secured bowl eligibility for the Sooners. They will play Navy in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 27.
At Auburn, he gets an opportunity for a fresh start on a team that is determined to contend in the SEC in Freeze’s third season. The Tigers will lose All-SEC running back Jarquez Hunter and leading receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith to the NFL but are bringing in four blue-chip freshman wide receivers: Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons, Perry Thompson and Bryce Cain.
Freeze was in need of a No. 1 quarterback via the portal to help Auburn take the next big step forward after 22-game starter Payton Thorne graduated and backups Hank Brown and Holden Geriner opted to transfer. Brown has committed to Iowa.
The Tigers stumbled to a 2-5 start in 2024 with four consecutive SEC losses before fighting back to win three of their last five, including a 43-41 win over then-No. 15 Texas A&M in four overtimes. They came up short of bowl eligibility, losing 28-14 at Alabama in their finale. In Auburn’s seven losses, the offense averaged a mere 13.3 points per game.
With Arnold now on board, Freeze and the Tigers are expected to be aggressive this month in their efforts to continue upgrading the roster with transfer portal additions.
Arnold’s first SEC conference game with the Tigers in 2025 will be a return trip to Norman to face Oklahoma on Sept. 20.
