Auburn signs five-star transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold
Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold (11) warms up prior to an NCAA football game against Auburn on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)
Quarterback Jackson Arnold is transferring from Oklahoma to Auburn and is the highest-rated quarterback that Auburn has ever signed, based on his five-star high school recruiting ranking.
Arnold is coming to the Plains after two seasons at Oklahoma and was 247Sports’ No. 8 player overall nationally in the Class of 2023.
Auburn’s other five-star quarterbacks include Cam Newton, Jason Campbell and 2025 signee Deuce Knight.
Arnold was the 2022 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas. He was also ESPN’s No. 3 overall prospect in 2023 and the 2022 Elite 11 Finals MVP.
“Any time you have those accolades you have great skillsets,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said.
In two seasons as a high school starter, Arnold passed for more than 7.000 yards with 67 touchdowns.
“The fit he is for our offense and for Auburn, I couldn’t be more excited,” Freeze said. “He’s a dual-threat guy who understands the RPO system extremely well and throws the deep ball extremely well.”
In nine starts at Oklahoma this season, Arnold threw 12 touchdown passes with three interceptions while amassing 1,421 passing yards (157.9 yards per game) despite the Sooners’ receiving corps being decimated by injuries.
“His deep ball has been very accurate,” Freeze said. “Didn’t throw a ton this year because they dealt with injuries at his previous school, so he didn’t have a lot of shots but going back and watching all his Elite 11 and high school competition, he throws the deep ball as well as you see at most any level.”
Freeze envisions a bright future at Auburn for Arnold, whose 2024 statistics are comparable to Bo Nix’s at Auburn in 2021 in completion percentage (62.6 for Arnold vs. 61% for Nix), touchdowns (12 vs. 11) and QB rating (124.8 vs. 130). The following season at Oregon, Nix threw for 3,593 yards and 29 touchdowns while rushing for 510 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Arnold also rushed for 444 yards with three touchdowns in 2024, including a career-high 131 yards while completing 9 of 11 passes in Oklahoma’s 24-3 win over No. 7 Alabama on Nov. 23.
Arnold’s addition further strengthens Auburn’s roster heading into Freeze’s third season.
“The expectation for the ’25 season is for us to compete for a playoff spot,” Freeze said. “We’ve had two full recruiting classes now. I think I told you I thought it would take three. I’m hopeful we can do it with the two.”
Arnold and Knight mark the first time in Auburn history that the Tigers will have two five-stars in the same QB room.
— Information from Auburn University
