Former Auburn Tigers quarterback Jackson Arnold committed to the UNLV Rebels and Dan Mullen this past January after a largely unsuccessful one-and-done campaign on the Plains and a failed two-year stint with the Oklahoma Sooners.
CBS Sports' Shehan Jeyarajah believes committing to Mullen may end up being the best thing for Arnold's career. Mullen, as Jeyarajah pointed out, helped former Virginia Cavaliers QB Anthony Colandrea have his best season by over 1,300 yards and by 10 touchdowns in Las Vegas.
"Three years ago, Arnold was rated the No. 1 recruit in Texas. Now, he's set to move on to his third school. However, Arnold made a wise choice by teaming up with quarterback whisperer Dan Mullen, who has a history of getting the most out of his signal-callers. Mullen helped turn Anthony Colandrea into one of the Mountain West's top quarterbacks, and Arnold will fit right in," Jeyarajah wrote.
Arnold was such a star at Denton Guyer in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex that a strong campaign with the Rebels may be able to undo the damage done to his narrative from his Tigers and Sooners tenures.
As a dual-threat who was once a deadly threat in the passing game and the run, Arnold will undoubtedly have an easier time contending with skill-position threats in the Mountain West, as opposed to the SEC. Arnold showed he still had great legs early in 2025, particularly against the Baylor Bears, but he couldn't take advantage of generational receiving talents for reasons that weren't all 100% his fault.
With a rebuilt offensive line and a head coach in Mullen who's produced successful NFL QBs like Dak Prescott and Alex Smith, and worked with Tim Tebow during his Heisman years, UNLV should offer Arnold the chance to look like someone who can sneak into the draft in a year's time with a strong NFL Combine showing.
Auburn didn't give Jackson Arnold enough to succeed
Hugh Freeze promised Arnold the world and delivered him a few great, if unmotivated, receivers, a strong running back room that was banged up for much of the season, and an offensive line that was never going to cut it in the SEC.
It was never going to work in East Central Alabama for Arnold, and it may not have worked for any quarterback, period. Freeze's locker room was lost because its highest-paid players were not setting any standard for themselves in practice and coasting on their talent.