Brent Venables assesses how much Jackson Arnold has improved since being benched

Oklahoma benched quarterback Jackson Arnold after he completed just 7-of-his-16 pass attempts for 54 yards and an interception in the Sooners’ 25-15 loss to Tennessee. However, after two games on the bench, Arnold regained his QB1 title.

Arnold has looked like a new player since his return. In his three appearances since taking back his starting spot, Arnold has completed 55-of-his-88 (62.5%) pass attempts for 631 yards and five touchdowns without throwing an interception.

On Tuesday, Venables weighed in on Arnold’s improvement this season.

“I talked about it each week. It wasn’t coach speak. It was what I saw,” Venables said. “He had some of his best practices that he had [while benched]. I said it at the time, and looking back, he’s continued to be that way.

“I don’t think he lacked focus prior, but his ability to stay focused and to stay positive in his own mind and just go to work — that’s what he chose to do that helped him to continue to improve and get better again. This is a young player that, again, has only started a handful of games in college, and so the development piece requires that you continue to stay consistent in your process.”

Despite showing improvement, Arnold was unable to boost Oklahoma to a win in his first two games back as the team’s starter. On Saturday, the Sooners finally found a victory, defeating Maine 59-14.

In the win, Arnold completed 15-of-21 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. Arnold also got it done in the ground game, recording nine carries for 45 yards and a score. Venables believes Arnold wouldn’t have found a second wind this season without his positive mindset.

“He chose to, instead of feel bad for himself and sorry for himself, instead of point the fingers and be paralyzed in the moment, he chose to grow and improve and get better and take ownership of all of his work,” Venables said.

“When he was asked to come back in the game, he was ready to do so. But he continued as though he was the starting quarterback when it came to his process.”

On Saturday, Jackson Arnold will look to help his team secure their second straight win as they square off against Missouri at 7:45 p.m. ET. The game will air live on the SEC Network.