The SEC is home to a number of promising underclassmen quarterbacks, including Nico Iamaleava for the Tennessee Volunteers, Jackson Arnold for the Oklahoma Sooners, and Arch Manning for the Texas Longhorns.
Arnold and Iamaleava began their teams’ bowl games to conclude the 2023 season.
Greg McElroy expressed some reservations about Arnold on a recent episode of “Always College Football.” According to McElroy, Arnold has had some turnover issues throughout fall camp. In his only start last season against the Arizona Wildcats in the Alamo Bowl, the Oklahoma quarterback threw three interceptions and lost one fumble.
Arnold also lost the ball over three times in a recent scrimmage, one of which being a pick-six to linebacker Danny Stutsman.
“…The concern for me, though, is that Jackson Arnold has continued to kind of turn the football over,” McElroy told me. “We turned it over three times on Friday, including a pick-six to Danny Stutsman. However, he turned it over three times in the bowl, and there were turnover difficulties in the spring as well. It is difficult to teach yourself out of being a turnover man.
Arnold was a former five-star quarterback for the 2023 class. According to the On3 Industry Rankings, he was the top quarterback in his class.
Fortunately for Arnold, Oklahoma returns some offensive weapons from last season’s team. Wide receivers Jalil Farooq, Andrel Anthony, and Nic Anderson have returned, as has running back Gavin Sawchuk.
Oklahoma expects Arnold to lead them to a good debut season in the SEC in 2024. On August 30, the Sooners will face the Temple Owls in the season opener.