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Tigers take on the Sooners on Sept. 20 in Norman

When Oklahoma finally made its SEC debut last season, quarterback Jackson Arnold was considered an integral piece in the Sooners being immediate contenders.

After all, Arnold had been a ballyhooed five-star recruit coming out of Denton (Texas) Guyer High School, and Sooner fans salivated at the thought of Arnold paying huge dividends in helping make the transition of going from the Big 12 to the SEC an easier one.

However, it didn’t quite work out that way.

The Sooners’ offense was hit by a bevy of injuries, particularly at offensive line and wide receiver. And Arnold was besieged by a double whammy of turnovers and inconsistency, evidenced by him being benched during OU’s very first SEC game, a nationally televised home loss to Tennessee.

BREAKING - Oklahoma has benched former 5-Star QB Jackson Arnold after 3 turnovers

True Freshman Michael Hawkins is now in at QB vs Tennessee pic.twitter.com/Xg3SFpvSMG
— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) September 22, 2024

Eventually, it led to head coach Brent Venables firing offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, who was in that role for only a handful of games.

Although Arnold eventually regained the starting job, and helped lead the Sooners to a rousing upset win against Alabama, the struggles all season by him and the offense eventually led Arnold to leave the program at season’s end. He ended up going to SEC rival Auburn.

And, as luck would have it, OU’s SEC home opener this year is none other than Arnold’s new team, as Auburn comes to Norman on Sept. 20.

Arnold was one of the players invited to speak during SEC Media Days in Atlanta, as Auburn was one of the four teams represented on Tuesday. Naturally, Arnold was asked about his return to Oklahoma in an interview on the SEC Network.

“Yeah, it’ll be a fun game; extremely excited for that one and, you know, no animosity whatsoever,” Arnold said in the interview. “I just think it’s gonna be a fun environment to go in and play.

“I really enjoy playing in that stadium.”

'I didn't play good' at Oklahoma: Former OU, new Auburn QB Jackson Arnold at 2025 SEC Media Days #CollegeFootball #SECFootball #SECMD25 #AuburnTigers #sooners pic.twitter.com/kdZJ1aAipq
— OU Daily Sports (@OUDailySports) July 15, 2025

Then, Arnold was inevitably asked why things didn’t work out the way it should have when he signed with OU out of high school.

“I mean, for whatever reason, you know, I just didn’t play good. … Things happen; things happen for a reason,” he said.

“Sometimes, things don’t work out the way it’s supposed to be. You know, we’re on God’s timing, not our timing, and you know, for me, I thought the best decision for me was to move on and move on somewhere else and get a fresh start like you said, and go out and do what I know I can do with this Auburn squad this year.”

Later in the interview, Arnold was asked about Auburn’s wide receiver room. He raved about their athletic ability; in particular Eric Singleton Jr., a transfer from Georgia Tech.

“It’s impressive; it’s like getting a whole bunch of unicorns in that room,” Arnold said of his receivers. “They’re one of a kind, they really are. … Like we’ve got dudes that can actually stretch the field and then on top of that, they can run fantastic routes.

“I feel like throwing to Eric Singleton is like throwing routes on air. … We were doing striders the other day and he was hitting like 22, 23 miles an hour while his toe was hurting. I’m like, ‘What?’ And he was talking like, ‘My toe’s bothering me,’ and I’m like, ‘You just ran 22 miles per hour, what are you talking about, your toe’s bothering you?’ … It’s a special group.”

The WR room is 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 🦅

🗣️ @_JacksonArnold_#WarEagle | #SECMD25 pic.twitter.com/h9ElgAS2ou
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) July 15, 2025

But Arnold’s impending return to OU remained a major topic of conversation at SEC Media Days. He was also interviewed by Toby Rowland, the recently named sports director of Oklahoma City TV station KWTV who is also the radio play-by-play voice of the Sooners, with Rowland asking Arnold the biggest difference between Oklahoma last year and Auburn now.

“The scenery,” Arnold said. “They have a lot more hills and trees.”

I asked Jackson Arnold the biggest difference between last year (OU) and this year (Auburn) so far…

“The scenery. They have a lot more hills and trees.” @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/Q4jcfLsKNe
— Toby Rowland (@TRowOU) July 15, 2025