Hugh Freeze is standing ten toes down at SEC Media Days when it comes QB Jackson Arnold
The Oklahoma Sooners have some juicy storylines on their slate for the 2025-26 college football season. They have one of the hardest schedules in the country, if not the hardest, but are a much improved team on paper now than they were last year. Let's start with the quarterback position in Norman, which is obviously […]
The Oklahoma Sooners have some juicy storylines on their slate for the 2025-26 college football season. They have one of the hardest schedules in the country, if not the hardest, but are a much improved team on paper now than they were last year.
Let's start with the quarterback position in Norman, which is obviously what makes all of the headlines. John Mateer, the former Washington State QB, came over after his former offensive coordinator did in Ben Arbuckle, and is now looking like he could be one of the best QBs in the country in 2025.
If the scheme is good, the offensive line plays better, and everyone stays healthy — no more of their top five receivers all being hurt at the same time — then this team can shock a ton of people.
Maybe the juiciest storyline this season for the Sooners is when they will play Jackson Arnold, the former Sooners quarterback who is now the starter for the Auburn Tigers. Things ended weird for Arnold and the Sooners, and Arnold's time there as a starter didn't look the best on the stat sheet or on film.
But Auburn is confident that Arnold is a good quarterback — an SEC QB at that.
Hugh Freeze is confident in Jackson Arnold
“I think he has regained confidence," Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said at SEC Media Days on Tuesday. "He’s got the swagger right now and respect of this football team, and a great understanding of our offense."
Last year, Arnold was benched against the Tennessee Volunteers after playing pretty badly. Then, Michael Hawkins Jr., the true freshman quarterback last season, came in and provided a bit of a spark — not enough to win the game, but the offense definitely did better than when Arnold was in the game.
And, the two basically flip-flopped at different points in the season. But, you could make the argument that it wasn't completely Arnold's fault that he played as badly as he did. Sure, some of it was his fault, but you have to think about the situation he was in with a bad offensive scheme, his OC getting fired mid-season, not having his five best receivers for conference play, and the offensive line being bad.
But on the other hand, when Hawkins played, most of the games he played in that, that is, he was, and the offense was better than when Arnold played. So, there are arguments to be made for both, but it's good to see his coach have faith in him. And man, this game between the two is going to be a blast.
See what Hugh Freeze says 'I couldn't get away with' in direct response to Lane Kiffin's jab at SEC Media Day podium
It didn't take long for Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze to respond to Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin's jab. The SEC Media Days have been spicy thus far, and Kiffin's willingness to call out Freeze's golf game was a funny moment on Monday. On Tuesday, Freeze had to get back at Kiffin. The Tigers' […]
