Auburn's Jackson Arnold an 'Increasing Disaster,' Per ESPN

The honeymoon phase for Auburn Tigers quarterback Jackson Arnold seems to have come to a close, and reality is beginning to set in. The junior signal-caller, despite a strong start to the season, has declined sharply since Auburn’s matchups with Baylor and Ball State, and analysts are taking note.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly described Arnold’s season as an “increasing disaster,” noting that Arnold’s yards per dropback started high in the Baylor game, peaked at over seven in the Ball State game, and has been on a trend of decreasing ever since.

The 43rd-ranked Power 4 quarterback in the nation, according to Connelly, does have a few upsides, including good completion rates and a lack of interceptions, but the dark spots are beginning to pile up.

Connelly notes that Arnold has been sacked at least four times on three separate occasions, including a staggering 14 sacks in the last two games, leading to Arnold’s yards per dropback plummeting to just under three.

Part of the issue surrounding the sacks is the offensive line, but there’s a more concerning issue that’s been causing the surplus numbers of sacks, and it’s one that’s been plaguing Arnold for his entire time with the Tigers: he’s still holding on to the ball too long.

Analysts have speculated that Arnold’s having issues trusting his receivers unless there’s no defender in their area, which, to say the least, is difficult to achieve in the SEC (unless you run a trick play and fake a substitution).

The challenge with that line of thinking, though, is that Auburn’s receivers excel at beating defenders in highly contested catches.

Just last week, Eric Singleton Jr. made what can only be described as a circus catch, as both he and star Texas A&M defensive back Will Lee III went up for a ball, and Singleton, who’s never been billed as a muscle receiver, was able to retain possession despite Lee having near full possession of the ball.

Then, there’s Cam Coleman, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound monster on the field, who’s made contested catch after contested catch in multiple games. Simply put, if Arnold is truly struggling to trust his receivers, it can’t be for their lack of merit.

Whatever the reason may be, something needs to change if the Tigers are to compete in the rest of SEC play. Auburn is in the midst of a bye week, hoping to iron out the kinks ahead of next week’s matchup against Georgia.

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