Jackson Arnold explains why he feels Oklahoma is ready for the SEC

Jackson Arnold is the quarterback who was chosen to lead the Oklahoma Sooners into the SEC, as the team moves on from the Big 12 in 2024.

With Brent Venables at the helm as the team’s head coach, there’s a solid foundation for Oklahoma, as they enter a transitive season. Even with all the moving parts, they’re hoping to be successful during their first season in the legendary football conference.

Still, there will be plenty of changes to the way Oklahoma has to play, moving from the Big 12 to the SEC. Arnold recognizes that, and he singled out the trenches as a place where the Sooners have been focused on improving, believing the unsung heroes of the offensive and defensive line will need to step up.

“I feel like the guys that we’ve brought in, from either the transfer portal or the 2024 class, are really competitive, big guys that can get after it,” Arnold said, regarding the importance of the line-of-scrimmage in the SEC, and being tougher than your opponent. “Got after us today in practice, you know.

“I mean, guys like that are gonna be a big difference for us, and guys that we’ve had and we’ve developed are going to be a really big difference for us this year.”

Alas, Oklahoma will certainly need to bring the juice at the point of attack, but Jackson Arnold will be the real difference maker. We’ve seen what a star quarterback can do for a team in the SEC, and the Sooners are hoping they have another on their hands in 2024.

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As the Oklahoma Sooners move to the SEC, the team led by Brent Venables is moving on from Dillon Gabriel at quarterback, replacing him with the talented but inexperienced Jackson Arnold. Now, with Fall Camp underway, Venables described what’s been standing out to him about Arnold ahead of the 2024 season.

“I think we’re executing at a really high level right now,” Brent Venables said. “Decision making is even better than it was. The guys around him are playing better. I think the offensive line is in a much better position than where we were in the spring. We had some guys again injured or weren’t here yet. I didn’t mention Geirean Hatchett. He’s done fantastic as well as an inside guy.”

Jackson Arnold came to Oklahoma as a five-star recruit in the Class of 2023, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the fourth-ranked quarterback and the eighth-ranked player overall in that recruiting cycle.

“Overall, leadership is a comfortable position,” Venables said. “He’s led these guys all summer and spring and so it’s a little more natural now.”

As the aforementioned Gabriel is replaced by Arnold, the latter did earn some playing time last season. In seven games, he completed 44 out of 69 pass attempts for 563 yards and four touchdowns. He also had three interceptions. On top of all of that, Arnold ran for 116 yards and had a touchdown on the ground.

On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this article.