With Spring Behind Him, Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold Now Begins His Next Phase

The Sooners' 5-star quarterback recruit grew during spring, but now must embrace summer fitness, a broader understanding of the playbook and his leadership role.

His first college semester is in the books. His first spring practice was a success.

Jackson Arnold now shifts his attention to the fires of summer fitness, to a more in-depth perspective on the playbook, and to the rigors of leadership as an Oklahoma quarterback.

But as much as Sooner Nation wants Arnold to step up and assume what at this point feels like his birthright, they might need to exhibit a little patience as their young hero navigates these next steps of his journey.

That’s how Arnold plans to move forward — just control what he can control.

“Just keeping my head down and grinding and not taking anything for granted and keep on working,” he said.

The season starts in four months. Training camp starts in three. But less than a month from now, Arnold will be back in the QB room/weight room/classroom, where he hopes to make the kind of progress that will get him ready if something happens to starter Dillon Gabriel next fall.

“Just being really comfortable with the playbook and making it second-hand nature in a way,” he said. “And getting faster and getting stronger with Coach Schmitty (Jerry Schmidt). We’re going to be conditioning a lot, we’re going to be lifting a lot in the summer. It’s our transformational phase, just getting bigger and getting stronger and getting faster. And just being super comfortable with the playbook.”

Arnold took all the No. 2 snaps in the spring game two weeks ago, and he even go to finish the scrimmage working with the No. 1 offense. That scenario helped his overall progress, he said.

“It was really helpful for me, just … playing with the 1s receivers (and offensive line), it helped me out tremendously,” he said. “It gave me time in the pocket that I could just step back and throw it, essentially.”

Arnold delivered the goods, too, throwing a beautiful touchdown pass to tie it on the final play and then executing his end of a game-winning 2-point conversion pass.

His team (the offense) ultimately didn’t win, however, because that conversion was dropped in the end zone, giving the defense an extra point.

But even in a moment of defeat, Arnold saw an opportunity to step up as a leader as he immediately ran over to console wideout Jayden Gibson, who had dropped the game-winning pass. Leadership opportunities are rare for young quarterbacks, and this quickly became a chance to lift up a teammate during a emotionally tough time.

“Just tell him to forget about it,” Arnold said. “It’s a spring game. At the end of the day, we’re playing against each other. We’re not playing another team. We didn’t lose a ring because of that. I mean, we lost a hoodie. That’s what you’re playing for, seriously. Don’t hang your head about it. It could have gone either way. At the end of the day, it’s not that important. Just push past that and become a better person from that.”

As the quarterback of the 2023 class, Arnold has sensed an opportunity to lead like that among the other freshmen as well. He wants to set an example. From there, the hope is that they will naturally follow his lead.

“I think we’re really hard workers,” Arnold said of the class. “That’s the mentality that we brought. Work hard and you reap what you sow. Work really hard day in and day out to earn your spot, earn your stripes, and be on the field early.”

As for the playbook, now Arnold has a point of reference for everything new. Before, it was a totally immersive learning experience, on the job training, sensory overload.

Now when offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby quizzes him on something, Arnold will at least have a base from which to operate.

“I feel really good compared to January,” Arnold said. “I was talking to Coach Lebby about it the other day with how far I’ve come since January in learning the plays, executing them, practicing and whatnot. I’ve come a long way and I feel comfortable. I had a couple of mental busts today that I want back but overall I feel really comfortable.”

That goes for his relationship with Gabriel and the rest of the Sooner QBs. Taking snaps next to the starter every day and eventually moving up to the backup spot has made the whole process easier for Arnold. The communication channels are flowing smoothly now.

“If anything, we’ve gotten closer,” Arnold said. “And that goes with all the quarterbacks in the room, too. Our quarterback room is extremely close. I haven’t seen anything like it. With a room like that, you can ask anybody for questions. Honestly, if I have questions for a certain play or what somebody should be doing, I can ask any one of them and get feedback from them. Even after my own drives, ‘What did I do wrong? Teach me and help me get better.’ We’re all there for each other and I love that about our quarterback room.”