Jackson Arnold was the crown jewel of Auburn's transfer portal class. The former Oklahoma Sooner quarterback opted to play for a different SEC program after a disappointing season under OU head coach Brent Venables.
Now, the Auburn Tigers have their go-to guy in the backfield, and head coach Hugh Freeze wants to guarantee that he is perfect before the upcoming season gets underway.
Don't worry, Freeze had a lot of words of praise for his new QB1, saying that Arnold's ball release is getting quicker and quicker, and that he is throwing the ball very well while on the run. Overall, Freeze is "really pleased."
What is wrong with Jackson Arnold's game?
However, there is one point of correction that Freeze wants to focus on as the last few weeks of the preseason unfold: Arnold's greediness.
"Really pleased... [Arnold's] a little greedy in the RPO game, a little bit, but I think we can get that fixed," Freeze said.
To put it into layman's terms, Freeze is saying that Arnold tends to keep the ball in his own hands on run-pass option plays (where the QB gets a little extra time to decide between throwing the ball to a receiver or running the ball on a quarterback keep).
During the 2024 season, Arnold had 154 completions for 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns, not too shabby. However, he had nearly he same number of carries as he did completions, with 150 rush attempts for 444 yards and three touchdowns.
Sure, a dual-threat quarterback is a great thing to have in the backfield. However, there is a reason there is a running back or two right next to your quarterback on almost every single play. There is no reason for Arnold to risk his legs and the rest of his body that frequently when he could just throw the ball downfield to numerous targets.
Once again, don't worry. There are still 22 days until the Tigers kick off their season with a matchup against the Baylor Bears. So, there are more than three weeks for Freeze to drill the ideal amount of passing versus running into Arnold's head.
Arnold is a veteran quarterback. Freeze is a veteran coach. The two will find a happy middle ground that leaves both parties satisfied and the Auburn Tigers sitting in a pretty position for the upcoming season.