The seven-figure deal, the potential $2 million price tag, the wait after not getting to see him at the A-Day spring game. And the wait was all worth it for Jackson Arnold during his Auburn Tigers debut on Friday night in a 38-24 win over the Baylor Bears.
Arnold had what was, in no way exaggerating, a Cam Newton-esque performance in Waco at McLane Stadium.
Newton had 228 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns against his first Power 4 opponent, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, in 2010. Arnold just went for 245 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns against his first Power 4 opponent 15 years later.
And just like Newton did with the running back room, Arnold propelled his backfield mates. Damari Alston had 84 yards and a touchdown, and Jeremiah Cobb had 74 yards and a touchdown.
USA Today's Ehsan Kassim honored Arnold's performance, claiming he "proved his worth" for the program already.
"Jackson Arnold proved his worth for Auburn football one game into his Tiger career and the 2025 college football season," Kassim wrote.
"The Oklahoma transfer quarterback willed Auburn to a 38-24 victory over Baylor on Aug. 29 from McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas. Arnold rushed for 137 yards and added 108 yards passing in the victory."
Kassim is 1,000% correct. With the amount of hype that was placed on the Tigers' Week 1 kickoff against the Bears, a loss could've been the death knell to Hugh Freeze's tenure as head football coach. Freeze wouldn't have gotten a pink slip outside of his hotel room, but the team would've went back to East Central Alabama knowing one more loss in the first four weeks could've possibly been his last.
Instead, it's not a stretch to say this team is a top-half SEC team, and one that may be competitive enough to be in the conference championship hunt come November. So much for Freeze's golfing habit being destructive enough to get him fired. The man now looks like a genius for setting up his play-calling the way he did. Tell him he has too many play-callers now. I know I won't.
There's simply no way to exaggerate how much of a vibe shift Friday night in the Lone Star State was for the Auburn Tigers.
And they literally couldn't have dreamed of it without a QB like Arnold. Not since Bo Nix has a QB inspired so much hope on the Plains.
Not since Newton has one been so dominant in every facet of playing the position.