Latest news with #JacksonArnold
USA Today
17 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Where does Auburn's Jackson Arnold land in The Athletic's preseason QB outlook?
Jackson Arnold was not dealt the best hand during his days at Oklahoma, and could turn his career around on the Plains. The 2025 college football season is just over one month away from kicking off, and the most underrated quarterback in the league may reside on Auburn's roster. Jackson Arnold was famously given a difficult hand during his two seasons at Oklahoma and has transferred to Auburn in hopes of getting a fresh start. The tools for a resurgence are there, as Arnold will play behind an experienced offensive line and will throw to talented receivers such as Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton. Sure, the potential for a stellar season is there for Arnold, but college football experts are careful to place high expectations on him. The Athletic recently revealed tier levels for each projected starting quarterback, placing Arnold in tier four. Tier four is reserved for quarterbacks that are "young, unproven starters with high potential" and "veterans who have flashed great talent but hit performance or injury speed bumps somewhere along the way." Arnold, honestly, could fit both descriptions. The Athletic identifies a factor that prevented him from becoming an elite, proven quarterback during his time in Norman. A mess of offensive problems — from the line, to the receiving corps, to the coordinator — muddied Arnold's would-be breakout sophomore season at Oklahoma, where he was briefly benched. 'He was set up to fail at OU,' a Power 4 coordinator said. Auburn provides a fresh start for a guy coaches are still bullish on talent-wise, but he'll have to take better care of the ball. Sooners' head coach Brent Venables spoke about Arnold's time at Oklahoma during SEC football media days last week, where he admitted that the odds were not stacked in the quarterback's favor. 'Unfortunately for him, everything around him wasn't helping him be successful,' Venables said of Arnold (via On3). 'So he had no chance in some ways, under the circumstances, and (got) dealt a really bad hand.' Despite his struggles as a Sooner, Arnold managed to 1,984 yards and 16 touchdowns with a 62.9% completion percentage. It will be interesting to see how much Arnold progresses under a new system under Hugh Freeze and offensive coordinator Derrick Nix. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
College football analyst thinks Oklahoma Sooners will be much improved in 2025
With SEC Media Days wrapping up on Thursday, the countdown to the 2025 college football season is officially on. In a few short weeks, the waiting will be over, and it'll finally be football time in Oklahoma again. Josh Pate, who covers college football for CBS Sports and is the host of "Josh Pate's College Football Show," was on hand in Atlanta this week to cover SEC media days and had plenty of thoughts about the Oklahoma Sooners heading into the season. Pate believes OU will be a vastly improved team this year, though he did admit that he seems to be a bit higher on Oklahoma than most other people in attendance were. The college football analyst believes that the Sooners will be a significantly improved team in 2025, despite facing one of the toughest schedules in the nation. "So like if you think Oklahoma's going to be subpar this year, they'll get swallowed by that schedule," Pate said. "If you think they're going to be good, and I happen to think they'll be a top 10 caliber team this year just in terms of quality, then they'll find a way through that. Not find a way through it unscathed, but they'll find a way through it." It's no secret that the Sooners had a multitude of flaws last year, most of them on offense. However, those flaws are issues that Pate believes can be addressed and aren't fatal to the program's future success. "So my theory on them is they were not a terminally flawed team last year," Pate said. "My theory on them is that offensive line combined with Seth Littrell and, just not being the guy for Jackson Arnold or Jackson Arnold not being the guy for that system, that was the terminal flaw. I don't think lack of talent, lack of (recruiting) classes stacked on top of each other, has been the terminal flaw. Defense is not the terminal flaw for them. So organizationally, that's always been a rock-solid place. Obviously, the pairing of starting quarterback and offensive coordinator(s) last year was not a good thing for the Sooners. QB Jackson Arnold and the OC trio of Seth Littrell, Joe Jon Finley, and Kevin Johns didn't get the job done, as Oklahoma struggled to move the ball and score points. OU hopes they've remedied that problem with the pairing of QB John Mateer and OC Ben Arbuckle, which Pate thinks can make for more success in 2025. "I think they've got plenty good enough players this year," Pate said. "I think offensive line play will be significantly improved. But I also think that quarterback play, play-calling synergy offensively, complimentary style of play, all that'll be there the way it should be for them, and if it is, you know, 9-3, they're one of the teams where 9-3, I would feel comfortable saying that will be good enough to get them into the Playoff." As the Sooners exit media days and get ready for fall camp, we're about to find out if everyone who thinks OU will be better is right this year. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hugh Freeze: 'I truly believe' Auburn will be in the mix for the College Football Playoff
Is Auburn a playoff-caliber team in 2025? Tigers coach Hugh Freeze certainly thinks so. Freeze said Tuesday at SEC media day that he believed his team would be in the playoff conversation at the end of the season. Auburn went 5-7 in 2024, but Freeze said that he felt his team was better than it was a season ago. Advertisement 'I truly believe that in the playoff run we're going to be in this discussion because I love this team,' Freeze said. '… Now we've got to stay healthy and we need the ball to bounce our way a couple times this year instead of against us, I'm sure, but that's our full expectation. We embrace the fact that is what Auburn should be, in those talks year in, year out.' 'It takes a little time to build it, and we've been doing that. Certainly I wish we would have won more games a few times, but the future is very bright in my eyes. We've been blessed everywhere we've been to win, and I expect nothing less than that at Auburn.' The Tigers are 11-14 in Freeze's two seasons and 5-11 in the SEC. Former Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold is in line to start after arriving from Norman in the offseason. But Arnold struggled himself in 2024 and was replaced as Oklahoma's starter during the season. Auburn's schedule is one of the toughest in the country as well. In addition to annual rivalry games with Georgia and Alabama, The Tigers have road games at Oklahoma and Texas A&M and also host a Missouri team that went 10-3 in 2024. A trip to Baylor is on tap in Week 1 too. The Bears ended the 2024 regular season on a six-game win streak and finished 8-5. Advertisement If Auburn is in the playoff discussion, Freeze will get serious consideration for the SEC coach of the year. Conversely, if the Tigers are under .500 for a third straight season, Freeze may find himself under serious pressure. Especially after setting expectations so high before the season.
Associated Press
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Hugh Freeze, QB Jackson Arnold are confident Auburn can be a winner in 2025
ATLANTA (AP) — Hugh Freeze is in unfamiliar territory as he heads into year three as Auburn's coach. The former Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty coach only had one losing season in his decade as a Division I head coach, but his first two seasons at Auburn have yielded meager results at 6-7 and 5-7. Last fall marked the first football season without a head coaching change in the SEC since 2018, but Freeze certainly enters 2025 on the hot seat. 'I'm glad I'm at a place that has those expectations,' Freeze said Tuesday at SEC media days. 'I think when you've done this awhile, you really don't give into a lot of the pressure stuff.' Everything starts at quarterback with the highest profile of Auburn's 19 incoming transfers. Freeze signed former Oklahoma starter Jackson Arnold, hoping he can finally provide stability. Starting quarterback Payton Thorne and his backup Hank Brown both struggled last season particularly with ball security, as the Tigers threw 13 interceptions as a team and finished 119th nationally in turnover margin. Arnold himself struggled through a difficult season with the Sooners, losing his starting job for two games and playing the final five games of the regular season with an interim offensive coordinator. But between Freeze's quarterback-friendly system and a year of SEC experience now under his belt, there is optimism about the fresh start being mutually beneficial. 'Coach Freeze isn't scared to push the ball down the field, which I absolutely love,' Arnold said. 'I thought with my experience running the RPO game, I think it meshed well with what Coach Freeze wants to do with his offense.' He will have two of Auburn's top three receivers from last year in terms of both yards and touchdowns back with Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons, along with incoming transfer Eric Singleton Jr. from Georgia Tech. That combined with a returning nucleus on the offensive line led by center Connor Lew has Freeze expecting a sizable jump offensively. 'This is my favorite offensive line when I look at it on paper,' Freeze said. 'We'd better be able to run the football and protect the quarterback, because I think we're pretty talented up there.' Heading into 2025 Freeze is not only 11-14 overall, but 5-11 in SEC play, 2-6 in one-possession games and perhaps most damaging in the eyes of fans and administrators, 0-4 against rivals Alabama and Georgia. 'Our roster is one that can compete with those teams,' Freeze said, directly addressing the rivalry shortcomings. 'We've been in the games the first two years, but we haven't found a way to win.' Auburn will get both games at home, with Georgia playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Oct. 11 and Alabama coming in for the regular-season finale Nov. 29. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hugh Freeze, QB Jackson Arnold are confident Auburn can be a winner in 2025
ATLANTA (AP) — Hugh Freeze is in unfamiliar territory as he heads into year three as Auburn's coach. The former Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty coach only had one losing season in his decade as a Division I head coach, but his first two seasons at Auburn have yielded meager results at 6-7 and 5-7. Advertisement Last fall marked the first football season without a head coaching change in the SEC since 2018, but Freeze certainly enters 2025 on the hot seat. "I'm glad I'm at a place that has those expectations,' Freeze said Tuesday at SEC media days. 'I think when you've done this awhile, you really don't give into a lot of the pressure stuff.' Everything starts at quarterback with the highest profile of Auburn's 19 incoming transfers. Freeze signed former Oklahoma starter Jackson Arnold, hoping he can finally provide stability. Starting quarterback Payton Thorne and his backup Hank Brown both struggled last season particularly with ball security, as the Tigers threw 13 interceptions as a team and finished 119th nationally in turnover margin. Arnold himself struggled through a difficult season with the Sooners, losing his starting job for two games and playing the final five games of the regular season with an interim offensive coordinator. But between Freeze's quarterback-friendly system and a year of SEC experience now under his belt, there is optimism about the fresh start being mutually beneficial. Advertisement 'Coach Freeze isn't scared to push the ball down the field, which I absolutely love,' Arnold said. 'I thought with my experience running the RPO game, I think it meshed well with what Coach Freeze wants to do with his offense.' He will have two of Auburn's top three receivers from last year in terms of both yards and touchdowns back with Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons, along with incoming transfer Eric Singleton Jr. from Georgia Tech. That combined with a returning nucleus on the offensive line led by center Connor Lew has Freeze expecting a sizable jump offensively. 'This is my favorite offensive line when I look at it on paper,' Freeze said. 'We'd better be able to run the football and protect the quarterback, because I think we're pretty talented up there.' Heading into 2025 Freeze is not only 11-14 overall, but 5-11 in SEC play, 2-6 in one-possession games and perhaps most damaging in the eyes of fans and administrators, 0-4 against rivals Alabama and Georgia. Advertisement 'Our roster is one that can compete with those teams,' Freeze said, directly addressing the rivalry shortcomings. 'We've been in the games the first two years, but we haven't found a way to win.' Auburn will get both games at home, with Georgia playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Oct. 11 and Alabama coming in for the regular-season finale Nov. 29. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
