Former Auburn Tigers quarterback Jackson Arnold, who signed with the UNLV Rebels out of the transfer portal on Sunday, had a forgettable season to most, but an unforgettable one for Hugh Freeze and the Auburn family. Arnold's campaign got Freeze canned and ended up being a colossal failure for everyone involved with paying him seven figures to end up benched.
Saturday Down South's Connor O'Gara noted that Arnold didn't get an "F" grade for his failures only because his whole season wasn't all a failure. Arnold led the Tigers over the Baylor Bears in a spectacular Week 1 showing, while O'Gara gives Arnold props for his showing against his home before the Plains, the Oklahoma Sooners.
"Woof. Perhaps we should’ve been skeptical about Arnold when the fall camp discussion centered around building his confidence back up. The only reason that Arnold didn’t earn an “F” is because he did lead the Tigers to an important season-opening win at Baylor, and he gave his team a chance late in the reunion game at eventual-Playoff team Oklahoma. Perhaps it’s putting lipstick on a pig to say that Auburn’s 5th consecutive season could’ve been even worse. But yeah, the same issues that plagued his time in Norman resurfaced at Auburn. When he faced pressure, he took a sack 33% of the time, which was the second-worst rate among Power Conference quarterbacks. Arnold only attempted 23 passes that traveled 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage (T-15th in SEC). Mind you, he had Cam Coleman on his team. Hence, why he was benched during a dreadful start at 2-10 Arkansas," O'Gara wrote.
"Arnold’s shortcomings played a significant role in Hugh Freeze’s midseason firing. A savior, he was not."
Jackson Arnold a disappointment every week besides Week 1 vs Baylor
Most will remember Arnold's night against OU for being sacked nine times as opposed to having a chance to win late.
O'Gara's point is still valid, though. Arnold handled the pressure of the moment in Norman and somehow had his team in the fight late.
Arnold wasn't all bad, and was, quite frankly, a massive tease against a Baylor defense that made every quarterback it faced besides the UCF Knights' Tayven Jackson look worth whatever they were being paid in rev-share and NIL.
If only Arnold could've looked like that any other week. He peaked in his debut, and that's quite possibly the worst thing he could've done with an Auburn fanbase that was clinging for any sign of improvement in 2025.