OU football's Jackson Arnold embracing starting role ahead of spring game: 'It's awesome'

NORMAN — Jackson Arnold feels a lot more relaxed heading into OU football's spring game than he did this time last year.

Then, the Sooners' starting quarterback was an early enrollee during what was supposed to be the final semester of his senior year of high school and was juggling college and learning a complex playbook. Now, after a full year of building a relationship with offensive coordinator Seth Littrell and his teammates, Arnold is just ready to play ball.

OU's offense will look a bit different Saturday with Arnold and Littrell at the helm, replacing former quarterback Dillon Gabriel and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. But the familiarity with each other and a year of Littrell helping out with the quarterbacks is what Arnold thinks will make the duo successful.

"Last spring and last summer and fall even, I got close to Coach Littrell," Arnold said. "Just talking to him and him teaching me certain things about the offense we're running because he ran similar things at (North Texas). Starting that relationship back then was big for me. It kept us close and made me affirm I wanted him to be my coach moving forward."

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Even head coach Brent Venables has taken notice of Arnold's mental growth. On an appearance on College Sports on SiriusXM Tuesday, Venables raved about his pupil.

"He gets the best out of his teammates," Venables said. "If he has a bad play, it doesn't affect him."

There's been a lot of buzz this offseason about the depth of weapons Arnold has had at his disposal this spring. Purdue transfer Deion Burks and Jayden Gibson are some names to keep an eye on during the spring game.

Veteran receiver Jalil Farooq won't play. He was seen wheeling around practice Friday on a scooter and reportedly fractured his foot.

"It's a big loss obviously, he's one of our starters," Arnold said. "I think it's good for our younger guys to kind of step up and with Gib and (J.J. Hester) stepping up into that role for Jalil, it's been big for those guys. Because Jalil's got experience, Jalil knows what's going on, this is what his fourth spring ball? He knows how it's run so getting these guys to step up and get more reps is big for them, but it's obviously it hurts."

Gibson has shined this spring in practice and has the potential to break out in 2024. There's no question Arnold will be looking for him to make plays on Saturday.

"He's really stepped up big time," Arnold said. "I mean, I wasn't here when Gib came in as a freshman, I was the year behind him but I heard stories about how he needed to grow up and this and that. This spring, he's balling and he's stepped into a leadership role. He's taking the lead of that receiver group and he's going to put on a show."

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Arguably the biggest story of OU's offseason has been its offensive line rebuild after losing most of its starters from 2023. In Arnold's first start in the Alamo Bowl, the inexperienced line struggled to protect him and left him scrambling at times.

Add injuries to newcomers Daniel Akinkunmi and Geirean Hatchett and Troy Everett, who was expected to start at center, and it's been an unideal last few months for offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh's room. However, Arnold has liked what he's seen as far as the growth from some of the freshmen and transfers this spring.

"I've been proud of those guys," Arnold said. "They've really stepped up this spring. We've got a lot of guys injured and a lot of younger guys have had to step up into a starter role and I feel like they've done a great job so far. They've been competing their butts off these past couple of weeks. I'm super proud."

While his first start in a Sooners uniform is behind him, it'll be different when Arnold steps onto Gaylord Family - Memorial Stadium for the first time as the starter. He follows not only Dillon Gabriel's successful run but multiple Heisman winners whose legacies played a part in Arnold deciding to attend OU.

Arnold's increased maturity is undeniable. He's already planning to bring the whole offense together for a summer retreat after spring ball similar to Dillon Gabriel's "DimeTime Retreat" over the years.

While the outside pressure is now firmly on Arnold, the stress that overcame him last year has disappeared.

"I feel like there's pressure everywhere you go playing quarterback," Arnold said. "Especially at a school like this going into the SEC for the first time. There's gonna be pressure for anything I do and I don't think necessarily being in that lineage adds more pressure, but I mean, it is awesome."

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football: Jackson Arnold embraces starting role before spring game