It’s hard to know where to start with Jackson Arnold. When he committed to Oklahoma, he was seen as the next great OU quarterback and the perfect guy to lead the program into the SEC. His performance in last year’s Alamo Bowl — and the four turnovers he had — was dismissed as simply the play of an inexperienced true freshman starting his first game. But after Saturday’s nightmare game against Tennessee, Arnold’s future is completely uncertain.
Oklahoma’s Quarterback of the Future
The Sooners’ first three drives ended on downs, a punt, and an interception that Arnold gifted to the Volunteers. But he rebounded by leading a ten-play, 55-yard drive that finished in a field goal and tied the game at three. But the rest of the first half was a train wreck on offense: the Sooners punted three times, surrendered a safety, and Arnold fumbled the ball twice. To make matters worse, Arnold’s fumbles both happened directly after the OU defense forced Tennessee to fumble and both were mistakes that Arnold simply shouldn’t have made. He coughed the ball up on a QB run on the Vols’ six-yard line and threw a backward screen pass that gave Tennessee the ball in OU territory. After his third turnover, Arnold was replaced by true freshman and four-star recruit Michael Hawkins for the remainder of the game.
After Dillon Gabriel announced he would be transferring at the end of last season, the feeling around the Oklahoma program was one of hope and excitement about Jackson Arnold’s talent and the team’s move to the SEC. But now, the season seems to be teetering on the brink of collapse, Arnold may have just been superseded by Hawkins, and OU still has to play at least four more games against teams just as talented (or more so) than Tennessee.
So, what should OU do with Arnold?
The reasonable thing for coach Brent Venables and his offensive coaches to do would be to sit Arnold down, express their confidence in him, and continue to start him this season. However, college football is rarely reasonable, and coaches and fans give in to overreactions on a daily basis. I do believe that Arnold will start next week against Auburn, a relatively easy SEC opponent that presents a chance for Oklahoma to take out some frustrations.
However, if Arnold slips at all, do not be surprised if fans begin to clamor for more Michael Hawkins and less Jackson Arnold. The reality is this OU team doesn’t have an offensive line that could stop molasses in wintertime, and there’s no way even a quality quarterback could be expected to play well with a line like that. So, regardless of how Arnold and the skill players perform, they’re going to be held back as long as the offensive line is in shambles. Unfortunately, the o-line probably won’t get much better during the season, so this team and its fans may be stuck watching their offense play with both arms tied behind its back.
Where does Oklahoma go from here?
The good news from the Tennessee game is that this defense is legit. Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman are elite, Robert Spears-Jennings has turned into a great player, and the entire defense was playing fast and physical against the Vols. Tennessee may have one of the best offenses in the entire nation, and Venables’ unit made them look totally average for most of the game. Granted, they did allow 345 yards of offense, but the OU offense also possessed the ball for 11 minutes less than Tennessee, turned the ball over three times, and gave up a safety.
All things considered, Oklahoma may now have the opposite problem it had under its previous coach: an elite defense and an offense that doesn’t even look functional. The season is just four weeks old, but Oklahoma is already having an identity crisis and it doesn’t seem like there’s an easy fix.
