Brent Venables Says He Expects QB Jackson Arnold to Return to Oklahoma Next Season

In a day of transferring during tough times, Venables doesn't anticipate Arnold to leave OU despite already being benched during a shaky season.

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold (11) walks of the field following the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorn at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas, Saturday, Oct., 12, 2024. / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Dang right," Brent Venables wants Jackson Arnold back as Oklahoma’s quarterback next season. 

Arnold’s first season as the Sooners’ starting quarterback has been rocky, but his coach has continually reassured his faith in the young talent. He certainly fortified that opinion on Tuesday.

Arnold is still early into his career as a sophomore with only six starts on his resume. But in today’s college football world with free agency through the transfer portal and programs able to lure talent with more money through Name Image and Likeness funds, new things get old quicker. Just because a team has a sophomore quarterback doesn’t mean it will have that player as a junior next season, especially if that player was as highly touted a recruit as Arnold and has already been benched once. 

Does Arnold even want to come back next year?

“My assumption is that you’re dang right he wants to be back. Why would he not? That's how I look at it,” Venables said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “Now, I don’t have my head in the sand. I would be concerned if I was thinking in that way, ‘I wonder if he wants to be back.’ Well, (shoot), you’re the starting quarterback at Oklahoma. That's your dream. You turned down a lot of good people to come here. And now you've faced some headwinds, and now you’re just gonna quit? I don't see that in him, and I don't see that in guys in our locker room. Does it happen in college football or in life? You're damn right. But not with people that are built with the right stuff, not at all. And Jackson’s got the right stuff.” 

Arnold was the presumed QB1 to start the season, but in OU’s SEC opener Week 4 against Tennessee, Arnold was benched for freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., who started the next three games. Arnold, though, reclaimed the starting job last week against Ole Miss, which Venables said Monday night was Arnold’s best game of the season so far. 

“I thought Jackson had his best performance of the year,” Venables reiterated. “I thought he did a great job going on the road and playing against a top-ranked defense. And, again, he completed over 70 percent of his passes, made a lot of great decisions, ran the ball well, threw it on time. He had a great game. And having fun and getting comfortable and not playing with a bear on his back. He just played free.” 

Arnold lost his starting job during the fourth game of the season. Had he not played again in 2024, considering he didn’t redshirt last year, Arnold could have redshirted as a sophomore, which was discussed before Arnold reclaimed his spot. 

The new trend throughout college football is players not only shutting it down early, but redshirting to prepare to enter the transfer portal and continue their career elsewhere without using a year of eligibility at their current program. Programs are likely to see more of that during lousy seasons. Playing time and more money can also be factors in a player going elsewhere. 

The Sooners are 4-4 on a three-game losing streak and have already fired their offensive coordinator, which was also Arnold’s quarterbacks coach. But even during the turmoil, no one has jumped ship yet. The team has been plagued by injuries this season, especially at receiver, but Venables has already said those injured standout receivers have told him they plan to be back next season. Venables expects the same answer from other players throughout the locker room, and if not, good riddance. 

“At the end of the day, for me, I want guys that want to be here because they want to put on the crimson and cream,” Venables said. “They love their coaches, they love the locker room, they love being an Oklahoma Sooner. That's where it all starts with me. I believe the guys in our locker room, that they love meeting that criteria, and I believe that firmly. 

“But nobody in college football is going to be immune from losing some guys. That's all going to be part of it. And again, if the storms are reason why guys want to leave, then I'm all for it. I'll help them pack their bags. I believe in that, too. But our guys are strong-minded. They believe in what they're doing. They believe in each other and believe in their opportunity, thankful for their opportunity. I see that by how hard they work, how hard they fight, how hard they compete.”