Entering the 2025 season, Auburn QB Jackson Arnold was considered a big gamble coming off a mediocre season with a serious turnover problem. Adding Arnold to an already turnover-prone 2024 Auburn roster raised some major concerns.
Fast forward to Arnold's debut for Auburn in Waco on Friday, the QB showed significant improvement over his performance with his ex-team, the Oklahoma Sooners. And that is considering the two being completetly different rosters, with whole different sets of offensive line backing him up.
Significantly improved rushing ability
Arnold had a much better day rushing vs. Baylor than he did in any of his games for the Sooners last season. The QB racked up a career-high 137 yards for two touchdowns, becoming the Tigers' leading rusher in the process. More than that, that was the most rushing yards in a single game in program history since Nick Marshall in 2013.
Arnold also displayed a tremendous use of his feet through a 27-yard touchdown and another 24-yard touchdown, proving excellent athleticism. “Honestly, no, I didn’t think I’d run that much,” he said. “At the same time, I’m going to do what I have to do to help this team win.”
Better decision-making
Despite the lineup, the best accolade of the night for Arnold was undoubtedly having zero turnovers. It clearly shows how much he has improved his decision-making.
Arnold revealed that his running the ball wasn't the original plan. It was during a RPO jet sweep with receiver Eric Singleton with 4:32 left that the QB decided to run with the ball instead which gave the Tigers their victory-sealing touchdown.
Performance under pressure
Arnold crumbling under pressure was one of the main reasons he was benched during the season in Oklahoma. He was sacked 36 times last season, most of which were at times when he was under pressure. His high turnover rate had a similar story.
Him vs. Baylor on Friday was different. Although he did get sacked four times, Arnold avoided several more of those by using his feet and scrimmaging for yardage.
All these are signs of him potentially developing into the elite playmaker Auburn football needs to restore its reputation — and the fans' faith in the program.