Early expectations for Jackson Arnold, how his development has progressed entering 2024 season

On the latest episode of Andy Staples On3 on YouTube, Eddie Radosevich and George Stoia III of Sooner Scoop joined Andy Staples to talk Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold.

“Jackson Arnold. He’s the guy. We know that,” Staples prefaced the conversation. “They let Dillon Gabriel go to Oregon. How’s he coming along? What — where does he need to work, and and where is he — where he needs to be?”

First, Radosevich took a crack at explaining Arnold’s development, believing that the quarterback needs to work on limiting turnovers.

“It’s the most fascinating conversation I think that nobody wants to have in Norman,” Radosevich said. “Just in terms of what his development has been. When we saw him on the field in the Alamo Bowl it obviously there was some really, really good, but on the flip side of that there was some bad. I mean, you obviously turn the ball over six times, you’re not going to win very many games. You know, whether it be home or away next season in the SEC, and I think that just decision making.

“You know, we talked to some of the players and they I think it was Jayden Gibson on last week, when we talked to him on Friday, just in terms of he’s been really good about bouncing back and forgetting some of the bad throws and it’s like, well, how many of those bad throws have there been? With that said, I still think that there is a feeling there’s a belief around Norman that he’s going to be the next great Oklahoma quarterback. There’s obvious tools and you know, some of the stuff that in some of the throws that he made in San Antonio against Arizona. … The good is really really good. I think it’s gonna be about how quickly he can get over some of these missteps, how quickly you can get over a turnover, whether it be in Auburn or Oxford or Columbia or wherever next season. You’re gonna have to probably rely on that defense.”

In response, Stoia III opted to talk about Arnold’s latest scrimmage, where he stated his belief that you have to take the good with the bad with Arnold at the moment.

“The latest scrimmage. We heard that Arnold threw two touchdowns and he also threw two interceptions. And I think he’s gonna have games like that next year where you’re like, ‘Man, this guy is on fire,’ and he’s dealing, and then he makes a couple bad mistakes. That’s gonna happen, and that’s just some of the growing pains when you have you know, a 19 year old, 20 year old at quarterback, but I think that his ceiling is still incredibly high,” Stoia III added. “When you when you talk about the ability to throw the football, the accuracy, all those things, he’s got all that. I think his ability to run. We’re gonna see a lot of that next year too. And I think that’s going to be a part of what they’re doing schematically. But I think that it’s just going to be a growing process for him next year.

“I think that fans need to be patient with him because, I think he’ll get better as the season goes on. The only problem is the opponents get a lot better as the season goes on for Oklahoma, so I still have a lot of faith, and faith in him. I just think that people need to be ready for him to turn the ball over a few times. I think the biggest thing for him right now is trusting in the offensive line, which is a tough thing to do when they’re constantly rotating guys and trying to figure out who their best five are. I think if he can trust that offensive line and stay in that pocket, he’s going to make good decisions. It’s when he feels like he can’t and he has to make a quick decision or decision too early, then he maybe makes the wrong decision. So I think that that’s all part of the growing process.”

Alas, it’s evident Jackson Arnold is supremely talented, but Oklahoma will be going through an interesting transition this season. We’ll see how the young quarterback adjusts in 2024.