Amidst New OC Hire, QB Jackson Arnold Said There's 'Nothing Making Me Want to Leave' Oklahoma

The Oklahoma quarterback said he had no plans for the future other than meeting the Sooners' new offensive coordinator in the coming days.

Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

BATON ROUGE, LA — After a week riding high off the Alabama win, Oklahoma cam crashing back down on Saturday night. 

The LSU Tigers handled the Sooners 37-17 in the regular season finale, dropping OU to 6-6 on the year and 2-6 in SEC play.

Now, while the team sits idle, waiting to find out its bowl assignment next weekend, it’s decision time for individuals up and down the roster. 

Quarterback Jackson Arnold is no different. 

The former 5-star recruit regained his starting job and helped power the Sooners past the Crimson Tide, but his future now hangs in the balance. 

Brent Venables needs to hire a new offensive coordinator, a decision he said will be made in the “coming days” during his postgame press conference at Tiger Stadium, then Arnold and the new architect of Oklahoma’s offense must decide if its the best fit for him to stay in Norman going forward. 

“Only God knows what'll happen in the future,” Arnold said after the game. “And I'm just, this next week, just meet the OC. See who we hire and take it day by day. But there's nothing making me want to leave or nothing making me waiver from being here.”

Arnold finished 14-for-21 for 110 yards through the air against LSU, adding 75 rushing yards on 17 carries. That brought his season totals to 1,311 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions on a 62.2 percent completion percentage. 

Since OU’s offensive coordinator search started, Venables has been asked about the Sooners’ intentions on bringing Arnold back. 

Venables has been steady that him and the coaching staff like Arnold and want him to return in press conferences, but Arnold was non-committal either way about his future in the week leading up to Alabama. 

“I'm just taking it week by week,” the quarterback said then.

That tune didn’t change when he was asked about the upcoming week.

“I’m going to take a break this week and just chill out and stay in the weight room, watch film over this past year and just improve on getting myself better,” Arnold said at Tiger Stadium. 

Whoever Venables taps up to fix the offense, that will be Arnold’s fourth offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. 

That was never the plan, as Arnold committed and signed to play for Jeff Lebby, but he’s rolled with the punches thus far in his career.

“It's definitely unique,” Arnold said. “Maybe not ideal but life happens. It's the cards that I was dealt, the cards that we were dealt. Just got to make the most of it.”

Though the Sooners were unable to close the season with a seventh win in Baton Rouge, Arnold did say he feels he’s progressed throughout his first season as a starter.

“I feel like I'm playing at a higher level for sure than I was earlier on,” Arnold said. “Whether that was from Coach (Kevin) Johns or whoever or just stepping up mentally, I don't know. But I feel like right now I'm playing at an efficient level. 

“I feel like the best thing I've been proud of is just being tough and keeping on carrying the rock for my teammates. Getting first downs, just doing whatever I needed for the team to win. Just throw my body on the line.”

Whatever happens over the coming days, Arnold said he’s not stressed by the upcoming decision he and many other members of Oklahoma’s offense will have to make. 

“I’m good. No stress. I've had peace of mind recently,” he said. “I just know that whatever is going to happen is planned by God. I've got peace of mind that whatever's happened is what God wants me to do.”