Jackson Arnold: The Quarterback Hugh Freeze Has Been Looking For

“Really excited about Jackson,” Hugh Freeze said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “I thought he and Deuce [Knight] were, we were able to just – we only had those two guys here so they got all the reps and I think that was a good thing. And, uh, Jackson, obviously, has all the tools  to be one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, in my opinion. I think he came out of high school, obviously, was Gatorade Player of the Year.” 

For the past two seasons, the Tigers have been led by Payton Thorne, who went undrafted in 2025 and signed an undrafted free-agent deal with the Cincinnati Bengals just a couple weeks ago. The Tigers went 10-14 in games Thorne played in. 

In his final season with the Sooners, Arnold was benched against the Tennessee Volunteers after he struggled with a pair of fumbles and an interception in the first half. His replacement, Michael Hawkins Jr., wasn’t much better. A month later, Arnold was back at the helm of the Sooners. However, the damage was already done. The Sooners finished 6-7 and went 5-5 in games Arnold played in. 

After finishing with 1,412 yards, 12 touchdowns and just three interceptions, Arnold transferred to the Plains. With both Freeze and Arnold looking for greener grass, this partnership could be very good for both parties in the long run. This year will be the year that both Arnold and Freeze will be under a microscope as they both will be in their third year. They cannot afford to not be good, especially with the wealth of talent that is on the team now. 

The hope is a change of scenery gets Arnold to where he was expected to be when he was a highly touted recruit. He was a top-10 recruit in the country in the 2023 class. The talent is there to make something happen. 

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