How Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold's Hard Work in the Spring is Already Paying Off in Fall Camp
NORMAN — Jackson Arnold is already seeing the fruits of his labor at Oklahoma.
The 5-star true freshman quarterback did everything necessary in high school to enroll early so he could join the Sooners for spring practice. And while that’s now standard practice in college football, the gains he saw during the spring are already benefitting him in his first fall camp in Norman.
Things moved quickly as Arnold not only digested offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby’s offense in the spring, but he also had to calibrate to the speed of the game at the highest level.
“It’s been a great fall camp,” Arnold said after OU concluded practice on Monday. “We’ve learned a ton, installed a ton and compared to the spring I feel so much more comfortable. Well it’s not even comparable, honestly.
“… Coming in in the spring was like the biggest advantage ever. Because now, I’ve got the plays down, now it’s just going out and executing.”
With that introductory period behind him, he’s been able to focus on his technique and understanding the nuances of his new offense this fall.
“Right now, (the focus is) more on the field stuff,” Arnold said. “Whether that’s footwork or certain ways to move in the pocket. Working on pocket presence and awareness, things like that.
“There’s always mental stuff off the field that I need to get better at but I’d say right now, on the field, it’s footwork, pocket presence, stuff like that.”
Arnold’s not the only one who can see his growth, either.
Jackson Arnold
Ryan Chapman / AllSooners.com
Early in camp, Lebby was impressed with how the young quarterback has progressed.
“You can just tell there’s a ton of confidence inside of him compared to the first four days of spring ball,” Lebby said last week. “And that’s just the growth of being able to go through it in the spring and having the summer and getting the (offensive) install again.
“… It’s slowing down for him a little bit. He’s got to continue to strain every day to be a heck of a lot better. But again, that’s all of us.”
With an entrenched starter in Dillon Gabriel, Arnold doesn’t have the pressure to go win games for Oklahoma this fall.
As a competitor, his goal is to continue to compete and push Gabriel on the field. But the relationship with the veteran quarterback and all of his teammates outside of practice has helped Arnold settle in.
“It’s been awesome so far,” Arnold said. Dillon is not only a great quarterback, but he’s a great guy too. So just being in a room with him, feeding off of him, off of his energy, just learning everything from his five years of experience has been huge factor in my improvement so far.
“… I've never been a part of a quarterback room like this… If we're not in the facility, we're hanging out outside of the facility too. So it's a really close-knit group and we feed off each other and learn from each other's mistakes and ultimately make each other better.”
Having Gabriel, who is entered his third total year in Lebby’s offense between Oklahoma and UCF, has given Arnold a role model to watch and ask questions to. But Arnold has also loved the opportunity to grow closer to Lebby.
“The thing about coach Lebby is that he is the same guy that recruited me a year ago, two years ago,” Arnold said. “It’s just awesome going into an environment like this where you know what you’re getting recruited is what you’re getting.
“He’s been coaching me hard, he’s not taking it easy on me, but I’m learning things from him every single day that have been helping me out tremendously.”
Now, it’s just a matter of continuing to pair the gains Arnold has made in the film room with production on the practice field.
Last Saturday, the Sooners staged their first scrimmage of fall camp, giving Arnold an opportunity to show off his skillset with the backups on offense.
“(The scrimmage) was good,” he said. “It was obviously some things needed to work on. But you know receivers, O-line they all balled out. They all did amazing but, you know, small things we still have to work on.”
Arnold and the offense are going to continue working all throughout the rest of fall camp, but the young quarterback who Lebby tipped to be the future face of the program is certainly seeing the progress in his own game as the 2023 season rapidly approaches.
“I felt like (on Monday) I was really comfortable in the pocket,” he said. “Had a good pocket presence today. It felt a lot slower today.”
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