How Jackson Arnold has created intrigue for Oklahoma in Alamo Bowl

Throughout the 2023 season, the thinking at Oklahoma was Jackson Arnold would be the Sooners’ quarterback of the future as they head to the SEC. He sat behind Dillon Gabriel as a freshman, although he impressed in his brief in-game action.

With Gabriel now at Oregon after entering the transfer portal, all eyes are on Arnold as he makes his first career start.

The change at quarterback adds to the intrigue of the Alamo Bowl against Arizona. There was a chance Arnold get first reps earlier this year when Gabriel suffered an injury, but he wound up playing — leaving Arnold in his role as a backup.

But Gabriel’s decision to transfer played a key role in Oklahoma fans’ excitement for the game with Arnold serving as QB1, according to Sooner Scoop’s George Stoia III. Suddenly, Thursday’s game has some storylines to monitor with the program’s future arriving.

“People are really excited,” Stoia told Andy Staples on Andy Staples On3. “It went from, you know, OU fans kind of being disappointed about not getting a New Year’s Six bowl, not being able to play in one of those bigger bowl games. And all of a sudden, there is a ton of excitement because of Jackson Arnold. You also add in the fact that they have a new play-caller and Seth Littrell as the new offensive coordinator, along with Joe Jon Finley as the co-offensive coordinator.

“Everyone’s kind of curious, what is this offense going to look like without Dillon Gabriel, without Jeff Lebby — and as Jackson Arnold gets going into the SEC, Oklahoma wants him to have a good game, so what’s the game plan look like? Are they going to let him loose? Are they gonna let him try and air it out, build some confidence as they do head into the SEC next year?”

Arnold arrived in Norman a year ago with plenty of hype. He was a Five Star Plus+ recruit, meaning he was one of the only players ranked by all four major recruiting media companies as a five star during the 2023 cycle. A product of Guyer (TX) High School, Arnold was the No. 8 overall player and No. 4-ranked quarterback that year, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Arnold made six appearances as a true freshman, completing 18 of 24 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the air. He also added 78 yards and a rushing touchdown on the ground, proving he can make plays with both his arm and his legs. That’s something Stoia pointed out when discussing what OU fans can expect during the Alamo Bowl, especially with Gabriel and his dual-threat skillset out of the picture.

“We’ve seen him at times this year in mop-up duty or in the BYU game when he had to come in for an injured Dillon Gabriel, and he played really well,” Stoia said. “He’s a guy that doesn’t have a ton of experience, still really young, he can move. He can really move in the pocket. He’s a runner, he’s a guy that can take off. I think it was in the spring game, he ran for like a 70-yard touchdown on one of his first plays in the spring game. So he’s somebody who can scramble kind of like Dillon Gabriel. So there’s a lot of people with high expectations for him, fair or not.

“And again, he’s got the talent. We’ll see what the decision-making looks like in this game. But you’ll see him throw the ball deep. That’s where his specialty is, for sure. And again, that’s kind of where it’s gonna be interesting. Do they let him loose in this game?”

Why Oklahoma could be a little more careful with the game plan for the Alamo Bowl

That said, Oklahoma would put a lot on the line by letting Jackson Arnold use his legs in the Alamo Bowl. Davis Beville served as the third string quarterback this year, but he’s entering the portal — although he’s playing in the game. The greater conversation, though, is who will serve as Arnold’s backup next year?

Those discussions are ongoing, but Stoia said fans could expect OU to be a little more careful about how much the staff lets Arnold do.

“Again, how much do they run him?” Stoia said. “That became a huge part of Oklahoma’s game is the quarterback run game. Do they do they risk running him? The last thing you really want is is to get injured in this game. Davis Beville, who just entered the transfer portal, he’s going to play in the game. He will be the backup.

“But going into the next year, no one really knows who’s going to be Jackson Arnold’s backup. There’s been some some talk about maybe trying to get a portal quarterback if they can. They’ve got Michael Hawkins and Brendan Zurbrugg, two freshmen coming in. But I think that they’re going to be kind of cautious with Jackson in this game in terms of running him too much.”