Following a series of subpar seasons, the Auburn football team is in dire need of a turnaround and has its eyes set on Jackson Arnold, the erstwhile five-star transfer from Oklahoma. National pundits such as David Pollack have referred to Arnold as “Auburn’s biggest question mark,” indicating the pressure placed on him to energize a program that has experienced bowl losses and disappointments accumulate. And even with his obvious skill, Arnold led his Sooner squads to 1421 yards passing and 12 touchdowns rushing in Norman, but they simply could not get it done, posting a 5-6 mark when he was the starter.
Arnold was elite coming out of Oklahoma, a top ten national prospect, with MVP awards, highlight reels throughout Texas. But at OU, he was working within a system formed by defensive genius Brent Venables, a man who prioritized not turning the ball over. Arnold deconstructed this on the McElroy & Cubelic show. “I’m not going to say that’s the reason anything happened last year,” Arnold says on the show. “But like, that is an accurate statement. Defense, like the coaches, thinks differently. [And] for an offensive head coach, you think differently from a defensive head coach.” He further added, “he was big on protecting the ball. Coach V was, big on the turnover margin and things like that. And I didn’t even hear what that like what you just talked about until you just told me. And it is accurate. It’s an accurate statement. Um, coaches think different. It’s just part of the game.”
Now, with a fresh start at Auburn under an offensive-minded staff, Arnold has a chance to modify his narrative, and possibly Auburn’s future along with it.
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