New Auburn QB Jackson Arnold on Spring Practice: 'Best One By Far'

The Auburn Tigers have a lot riding on the success of new quarterback Jackson Arnold, and he is pleased with his progress on the Plains.

A lot is riding on the shoulders of new Auburn Tigers quarterback Jackson Arnold. / Austin Perryman / Auburn Tigers

For as long as Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze has been picking up his paycheck down on the Plains, he's never been shy about reiterating how planting the seeds for success will take time to germinate.

Along the way, recruitment wins have been notable and multiple, especially as Freeze has built a young nucleus of talent ready to compete in the SEC.

Even so, without an effective quarterback operating his offense, Auburn has lost more than it has won for several years now.

Repeated faltering and failings which has served to put increasing pressure on Freeze as he enters year three of his command: a swift turnaround in Auburn's fortunes has become non-negotiable. 

Consequently, addressing where he's gone wrong has meant that Freeze has learned a valuable lesson garnered from not adding a transfer quarterback during the portal last year.

So this time around, Freeze went all-in on selling his version 3.0 of the Auburn project to dethroned Oklahoma Sooners signal caller Jackson Arnold, and the former 5-star recruit was digging the Auburn's sales pitch.

"I think just them persistently recruiting me early. They were one of the first teams to hot me up out of the portal," Arnold told reporters after practice this week about choosing the Tigers. "They stressed how much they wanted me out of the portal, too. It's nice to feel wanted. 

“Coach Freeze, and Coach (Kent) Austin and Jesse (Stone), their message to me was we've got great ballplayers, they're going to be around me and help me out and support me. How Coach Freeze develops his quarterbacks, obviously, with Malik Willis,it was very appealing to me."

Reassuringly, the work ethic of Arnold is already showing up. The youngster knows that the hard grind in the here and now can pay off handsomely moving forward.

When it comes to them getting familiar as a team in particular, Arnold is well aware that stacking reps and building bonds are the best currency.

"I think it's going good so far," Arnold declared on Wednesday. "You know, (I've got) good relationships with my teammates, on and off the field. Obviously, with spring ball, getting comfortable with the receivers, tight ends, running backs, O-line. I think we've gelled really well together and I think we're having a great spring so far."

Hitting the ground running can only be good for Arnold over the long run, especially when it boils down to the nitty gritty of mastering a new system. However, the learning curve for Arnold may not be very steep. 

"He knows what we did in high school and in college, and our schemes, my scheme, has always been very similar to what Coach Freeze runs," Arnold revealed. "I know what he expects out of the RPO system, and just his system in general. I feel like, for me coming in, it was big, because all these plays I've ran before, they were just called something different. I was able to pick up the offense really quick and be efficient early on with decision-making and accuracy and whatnot."

As far as coach Freeze is concerned, he's pleased with what he’s seen from Arnold and freshman Deuce Knight. The pair are getting extra time on the field as the only two quarterbacks in attendance for spring. 

Arnold has been through spring practices before at Oklahoma, but he feels more confident in what he’s doing at Auburn. 

"Out of the past three springs I've had, or two springs I've had, this has by far been my best one," Arnold enthused. "I couldn't give you a number grade or anything. I don't have that stuff, but I feel like it's going really well."

If Arnold does “really well” when it counts this fall, the Auburn Tigers will break their four-year stream of seven-loss seasons and be well on their way back to relevance in the SEC. 

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