Not all the best-rated players go on to have seasons that are worthy of the hype around them. Jackson Arnold was one such player who, before the 2024 season, looked like the key to Oklahoma’s success. Unfortunately, Norman did not have a lot of good in store for the QB. Arnold was essentially grilled for his struggles in the Sooners’ offense, which usually never saw a spark when needed. Brent Venables is stepping up to take his share of the blame.

Lincoln Riley’s departure left a huge void at Norman, leaving the program as a Big 12 juggernaut. Venables got off to a bad start in 2022, then cleaned up by a lot in 2023. But 2024 was so brutal that it became the singular talking point of Oklahoma football. And part of that nightmare was Jackson Arnold, who came in as a 5-star prospect and the No. 11 QB of the 2023 class. The QB1 job called for him after Dillon Gabriel left the Sooners. Unfortunately, his debut as a starter was a disaster.

Arnold was part of a faulty offense that, at one point, had all six receivers injured. When it got to a point that Venables could no longer continue with him, he got Michael Hawkins Jr. in play. He, too, couldn’t save the Sooners’ ship from sinking, despite former OC Seth Littrell being fired midway through the season. Brent Venables recently opened up and said that he put both his QB1s in a “really tough” position and believed that both of them would have better seasons this year.

But the damage had already been done to Jackson Arnold. Naturally, he desired a change of scenery and departed for Auburn. The offense, with Jackson Arnold and Hawkins in play, gave up 3.85 sacks, finishing right at the bottom nationally, ranking 130 of 133. This was despite Arnold displaying skills of remarkable escapability. Both Venables and Arnold knew that Norman was no longer going to be the best choice for him in the future. Now at Auburn, the QB1 is once again looking like a player who could take Auburn back to winning ways.

However, Oklahoma bit, swiped, jabbed, and inflicted all kinds of damage on Arnold mentally and emotionally. He revealed the extent of the hate he received, which might have influenced his decision to transfer.

Jackson Arnold reveals dark messages he received after his lone season with Brent Venables

“[With] social media everywhere, I got people freaking in my DMs and telling me to kill myself,” Arnold told On3’s J.D. PicKell. That’s how dark it got for the QB. He struggled in the Tennessee game and got benched as well. Those are things you won’t imagine being associated with a quarterback of Arnold’s stature. Maybe even Dillon Gabriel’s success at Oregon in the same year as this fiasco could have pushed fans to attack him online. He explained that the way his season went, there weren’t a lot of good things to remember it by.

“I guess that’s about as low as you can go, just being there, and staying strong, it hurt. It hurt those first couple of days. It hurt those first couple of days. Then that first week, we went to Auburn, I didn’t play that game, and Texas, didn’t play that game. It stung for sure,” Arnold added. Following Littrell’s departure, Venables promoted QB coach Ben Arbuckle up the ranks to help save things, but that ship had sailed. Venables is now hell-bent on doing nothing but better than his last season’s records. John Mateer looks like the guy who can help do that.

Jackson Arnold is now in a new home, but with a past that can quickly bring Oklahoma back into the conversation. It’d take him some time to bring the ire down to a minimum. But the clock is already ticking. 2025 will be a redemption year for both Arnold and Brent Venables.