Will Jackson Arnold Be The QB Savior Hugh Freeze Needs At Auburn In Critical Year For The Tigers?

In what will be one of the most important seasons of his coaching tenure, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze has gone out and landed former Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold from the transfer portal to lead the Tigers in 2025. 

Just three months ago, Jackson Arnold faced a dilemma after being benched during the Tennessee game in favor of freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. in a loss that forced the 5-star prospect to take a look in the mirror and decide what his future looked like. 

He had put in the time at Oklahoma, starting ten games for the Sooners, though it never came easy for the talented quarterback. After not playing the next week at Auburn, go figure, and not seeing the field against Texas, head coach Brent Venables went back to Arnold when Michael Hawkins Jr. struggled against South Carolina. 

He would start the rest of the season for the Sooners, but his future with the Oklahoma program wasn’t going to extend into 2025. It was time for a fresh start for a quarterback that needed to find an offense that would suit him, and a coach that could try to get the best out of him on a weekly basis. 

Arnold will have two years of eligibility left at Auburn. 

NORMAN, OKLAHOMA – NOVEMBER 23:  Quarterback Jackson Arnold #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners throws under pressure from cornerback Domani Jackson #1 of the Alabama Crimson Tide in the fourth quarter at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Norman, Oklahoma.  Oklahoma won 24-3. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Obviously, nothing was working for the Tigers quarterback room, even when they won three out of their final five games of the season. Payton Thorne was done, and Hank Brown and Holden Gernier entered the transfer portal, which could be attributed to Hugh Freeze deciding it was time to find the right guy to lead his Auburn program. 

After not making a bowl game in 2024, the pressure is on Freeze to get this thing turned around quickly, or Auburn could be looking for a new head coach after the 2025 season. Now, with the addition of Jackson Arnold, the staff can try to build an offense around him, while having to replace Jarquez Hunter. 

Jackson Arnold Can Be The Bridge To Deuce Knight At Auburn

The best news for the transfer quarterback is that he will have plenty of talent at the wide receiver position, and the Tigers will continue scouring the transfer portal to find him additional help for an offense that has the ability to take the next step. 

Jackson Arnold understands what he’s walking into, with a program looking to finally establish itself under Hugh Freeze, and a highly-touted freshman QB in Deuce Knight waiting in the wings to take over the position in the future. 

“This place is special, and there’s no other place I wanna be,” Arnold said on social media. “I believe in Auburn and love it. My name is Jackson Arnold, and I’m an Auburn Tiger.”

If Hugh Freeze wants to remain the head coach at Auburn, he needs Jackson Arnold to be the bridge for 4-star QB Deuce Knight, who comes in with high expectations. 

This move gives the Tigers an opportunity to develop Knight, while the hope is that Arnold can lead them back into SEC relevance in the meantime.