Ask any Auburn Tigers football fan, and most would tell you a glaring weakness of the 2024 team was the quarterback position. Payton Thorne did not have bad statistics this past season but late game failures cost the Tigers some games. In his final year on the plains, Thorne passed for 2,713 yards and 21 touchdowns. Now that Thorne has used up all of his college eligibility, the Tigers are in need of a quarterback. The depth at the position also took a hit with Hank Brown and Holden Geriner entering the transfer portal.
Early on Saturday morning, Pete Nakos of On3 broke the news that former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold would be heading to Auburn. Arnold was part of the 2023 recruiting class for the Sooners, and was a five-star player out of Texas. In fact, he was ranked the fourth best quarterback nationally by 247Sports. and the top recruit out of Texas. He spent most of 2023 as the backup to Dillon Gabriel, but did start in the Alamo Bowl versus Arizona. In that game he threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns, but also had three interceptions. He started the first four games this season before being benched during a 25-15 loss to Tennessee. Arnold regained the starting position midway through the season and guided the Sooners to a 6-6 record.
The highlight of the season for Arnold and the Sooners was a 24-3 win over Alabama that basically eliminated the Crimson Tide from the College Football Playoff. On the season he passed for 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is a dual-threat quarterback with the ability to run the football. Arnold was second on the team with 444 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Auburn now has three quarterbacks on the roster with the addition of Arnold. Freshmen Walker White and Deuce Knight will join him, and look for the Tigers to add another quarterback from the transfer portal.
Check out the latest episode of “The Phillip Jordan Podcast”. Phillip Jordan is joined by Sporting News senior writer Bill Bender and Vol Report writer Ryan Sylvia to discuss the College Football Playoff. Listen with the player below.
