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For Jackson Arnold, the school part of college is a breeze – at least, for now.
The true freshman quarterback, who should still be in high school right now but enrolled early at OU, said Wednesday his head isn’t spinning in the classroom.
But as for in the meeting room with offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and on the football field against Brent Venables’ defense, Arnold is experiencing normal freshman growing pains.
“Class hasn’t been too hard,” Arnold said with a smirk. “But on the football field, absolutely not. Everything’s earned. You’ve got to work super hard out here.”
There’s maybe no one with higher expectations on OU’s roster than Arnold. A five-star recruit out of Denton Guyer High School, many inside and outside the program anticipate Arnold being Oklahoma’s next great quarterback. And for good reason.
He was the winner of last year’s Elite 11 competition and was the nation’s Gatorade Player of the Year.
His high school tape speaks for itself, showcasing his athletic ability, strong arm and accurate ball.
“He’s great,” said senior receiver Drake Stoops, who’s played with quarterbacks Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, Spencer Rattler, Caleb Williams and Dillon Gabriel. “He’s progressing fast.
He has a very strong arm and has all the intangibles. I think right now it’s just being young and stuff, learning the offense. He’s an early enrollee so he’s learning the new offense.
The game moves a little faster in college and so once he gets adjusted to that, he’s going to be rolling.”
Still, this is Gabriel’s team. And both Gabriel and Arnold know that.
Gabriel said a week ago he was taking Arnold under his wing. And Arnold said Wednesday he’s been attached to Gabriel’s hip since the beginning of spring practice, saying Gabriel has been “really helpful.”
“Learning this offense isn’t easy at all,” Arnold said. “Having somebody like Dillon in the room, and the rest of the quarterbacks in the room Davis (Beville) and General (Booty), just being able to ask them a question in meetings if there’s something I don’t understand has been really helpful.”
Arnold has also spent extra time with Lebby, who sent Arnold the playbook the moment he signed with Oklahoma in December.
“He’s spent a ton of time in the building on his own,” Lebby said. “He understands what it means to be the guy here and understands what it is going to take for him to get to that point.
He’s spent a lot of time and has done a good job in there, which has been good to see.”
Right now, Arnold said he’s mostly working with the second and third team offense, along with Davis Beville and General Booty. He’s battling for the backup job, which may not be decided until the fall.
For now, he’s focused on learning the playbook and adjusting to the intensity of a Venables-run practice.
“Obviously being in college the pace of play is different,” Arnold said. “So just getting used to that and getting used to the whole playbook and how it plays out on the field has been really helpful so far…
In high school we never did too much of offense vs defense and I feel like here, that’s all we do. It’s competition 24/7. I like that a lot. It’s only going to make me better going against the twos and threes.”
Patience will be key not only for Arnold but also for Sooner Nation, which has made it clear they hope to see him on the field soon. The Spring game should help fill that void a little. But Arnold’s time will come soon enough.
He knows that. Gabriel knows that. And Lebby knows that. He’s the future of the program and this spring is just the beginning of that grooming process.
“My expectation coming into here was to become a better football every day,” Arnold said. “Come into the spring and learn the playbook and not only being a better football player but a better student too… I think I’m doing a good job.”
