Former Alabama QB AJ McCarron ripped Auburn football's incoming starting QB, Jackson Arnold, during the McCready & Siskey podcast. McCarron had a visceral reaction to the news AU nabbed Arnold and questioned why the Tigers got a QB who he claims didn't prove he can be an effective passer against SEC defenses.
“Oh God, oh f***. “This is a serious thing, what did Hugh Freeze see watching Oklahoma tape that made him say… And this is not to bash Jackson Arnold, I think he’s a great athlete. I think he’s underestimated as an athlete. To play the quarterback position, the last time I checked, you got to be able to throw the damn football. I didn’t see that all year," Arnold said. "When did he ever throw it and win?"
McCarron's comment showed some pain over the Crimson Tide's 24-3 loss to an Arnold-led Oklahoma. Arnold threw just 11 passes, completing nine of them, for 68 yards. McCarron couldn't discount Arnold completely considering the Atlanta native's 131 rushing yards.
His skepticism isn't unearned, though. At this point, Arnold working out would be seen as a reverse Bo Nix. If Arnold thrived on the Plains, it'd be the first time he'd be considered an elite QB in the conference.
What makes the skepticism more pronounced is Tiger fans' preferred portal QB target, John Mateer, replacing Arnold at OU.
You can see the negative narrative for the 2025 season already. Freeze will be accused of jumping the gun and getting Arnold before he even had a chance at Mateer. Oklahoma and Auburn play each other in Week 4, so there will be a direct head-to-head in Arnold's return to Norman, but now Freeze and Brent Venables' squads will be linked all year given how the portal QB musical chairs played out.
Freeze has done so well on the recruiting trail bringing in new talent, via the portal and a top-10 2025 class, and keeping his top in-house guys, that QB play won't define the season. But that was the hope the past two seasons and the results were unacceptable.
Arnold and Mateer will be a notable storyline all next fall. And by default, Auburn-Oklahoma is once again a marquee game on the college football schedule.