Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold Lands on Maxwell Watch List
Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold said at SEC Media Days he is embracing the high expectations of leading the Sooners.
That’s good, because expectations don’t get much higher than the national player of the year.
On Monday, Arnold landed on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, given to college football’s top player.
Former Washington quarterback Michael Penix received the award in 2023. Former Sooner Caleb Williams won it in 2022 at USC.
OU quarterbacks who received the Maxwell Award are Baker Mayfield (2017) and Jason White (2004). Split end Tommy McDonald won it in 1956.
“There’s a lot of pressure that comes with this position for sure," Arnold said in Dallas. "Again, at the end of the day, I just gotta go out and perform to the best of my abilities and hope I live up to that lineage.”
Arnold will make his second career start when the Sooners host Temple on Aug. 30.
He served 12 games as Dillon Gabriel’s backup as a true freshman last season. After Gabriel entered the transfer portal last December, Arnold took over the starting job ahead of the Alamo Bowl against Arizona.
In that game, Arnold passed for 361 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions and lost a fumble.
The 6-foot-1, 211-pound sophomore from Denton, TX, completed 44-of-69 passes (80.4 percent) for 563 yards with four TDs and three INTs last season. He also rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown.
He signed with the Sooners as a 5-star prospect out of Guyer High School, where he was the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2022. Arnold enrolled at OU in January 2023 and almost immediately assumed the backup role behind Gabriel last spring.