Assessing the excitement level for the Jackson Arnold era to start vs Arizona

Dillon Gabriel is in the NCAA transfer portal, with On3’s Pete Nakos saying Oregon and USC are the favorites to land him. And while Gabriel is unsure about playing in Oklahoma‘s bowl game against Arizona, the folks in Norman are ready to see the future. Jackson Arnold is likely the guy against Arizona in the Alamo Bowl, providing a glimpse at what 2024 could look like for the Sooners.

“People are very excited,” George Stoia of On3’s Sooner Scoop said during Tuesday’s episode of Andy Staples On3. “Let me put it this way — last year, all offseason, all we heard was ‘When is Jackson Arnold going to start? He’s definitely going to beat out Dillon Gabriel halfway through the season.’ Now that it is finally his time to take over, I think people are super pumped.”

Arnold played high school football at Denton (TX) Guyer, where he was a Five-Star Plus+ prospect. He was the No. 8 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

There was excitement surrounding Arnold from the get-go. And now, his playing may rejuvenate interest in Oklahoma’s bowl game after missing out on the New Year’s Six. Oklahoma fans are used to facing big-time opponents on a big-time stage and Arizona may not do it for them.

Having Arnold get the start will certainly draw a crowd on Dec. 28.

“I think OU fans were super disappointed to not get into a New Year’s Six bowl… I think they look at the matchup and think ‘Arizona? What kind of matchup is that?’ You’re playing in the Alamo Bowl, which isn’t as big of a stage.

“I think as soon as we found out Dillon Gabriel was leaving and that Jackson is likely going to start the bowl game, I think people got a lot more excited.”

Arnold taking over will not be the only change Oklahoma sees on offense. Jeff Lebby is off to Mississippi State, leaving Seth Litrell to take over as the co-OC and play caller. His system is slightly different than the one Lebby ran. Stoia is interested to see how the Sooners look with Arnold working with Litrell.

“They have a whole new playcaller in Seth Litrell,” Stoia said. “Is it more of what Jeff Lebby was doing this year? Or is it more of the Air Raid and what Seth Litrell was doing at North Texas and North Carolina, Indiana, Kansas?

“Jackson has been learning Jeff’s system all year. So what does it look like to get 15 practices and prepare as the starter in an offense he hasn’t really played in yet?”

When Gabriel went down in the BYU game, Arnold played the entire second half and propelled Oklahoma to a win. He threw for 33 yards and rushed for another 24. Maybe not the best stats but it was enough to escape Provo in an emergency situation.

Arnold will hopefully light up the stat sheet a little more against Arizona and look good doing so. There can be a lot of pressure leading the program into the SEC and gaining confidence with a solid performance in San Antonio would certainly excite the Sooner faithful.