Jackson Arnold shares mentality throughout spring practice

The crown jewel of the 2023 Oklahoma signing class and one of the best high school football players in the country in 2022, Jackson Arnold is still getting up to speed like any freshman. And he capped off his first spring as an early enrollee at Oklahoma with a solid spring game performance.

Since arriving in Norman, Arnold has been trying to do one thing: Get on the field as soon as possible. And though he got a taste of it today, there’s plenty more for him to do before he’ll be under center for the Sooners.

“I think we’re really hard workers,” Arnold said after the spring game. “That’s the mentality we brought in, just work hard and I guess reap what you sow, in a way. Work hard day in, day out to earn your spot or earn your stripes and just get on the field early.”

Arnold, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, was the No. 8 prospect in the 2023 signing class and the fourth-best quarterback, trailing the likes of Arch Manning, Nico Iamaleava and Dante Moore. However, it was Arnold who earned Gatorade national player of the year honors for football.

Jackson Arnold can SPIN ITpic.twitter.com/9KuATaKcrI

— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) April 23, 2023

“Jackson Arnold, do not get it twisted, he is the future at Oklahoma,” On3’s JD PicKell said. “He’s going to lead them into the SEC – he will be your quarterback when you take your first snaps in the SEC. It’s a very big deal.”

As he adjusted to college football from high school, Arnold found that the speed of the game and defenders wasn’t causing him as much trouble as taking in and sorting all the information he was getting. From offensive plays — which he needs to know in their entirety from route trees to blocking schemes — to learning defensive keys and what to read, Arnold has been saturated with football knowledge.

The young quarterback had a healthy perspective about his challenges in the college football classroom, though. These might be bumps in the road, but it’s his first few months on campus. Sooner or later, it’ll start to feel like muscle memory. And with the talent that Arnold so clearly possesses, that could mean great things to come for Oklahoma.

“But I think the mental part, whether it’s having confidence in yourself or just learning what the defense does — because our defense runs about 15 million different things. So the defense part of it, too, is extremely tough because of how much stuff they run. Being able to recognize that, being able to know my plays, what everyone is doing on our plays. It’s tough. But I think it was tough because it’s just the first spring. I’m getting used to everything,” Arnold said.