In 2023, Jackson Arnold saw his best interests in Oklahoma and headed to Norman. Except, after he took over for Dillon Gabriel, his freshman season turned into a nightmare. His five-star status failed to show itself on the field and became one of the many problems for HC Brent Venables that season. Soon after the season ended, Arnold made up his mind and transferred to Auburn. Now, the QB is getting back on track, working towards reclaiming his lost glory. But what about the Sooners HC, who is doing everything to keep the 2024 nightmares at bay? What should he take into consideration as he heads into the 2025 season with one of the most anticipated QB1s in the scene, John Mateer?

Jackson Arnold was just one part of the problem. The QB room stats indicate how badly the players struggled throughout the season. Arnold logged the fewest passing yards since 1998 and the fewest touchdown passes since 2013. Gabriel, his predecessor, had a spectacular campaign with Oregon in the same season. Arnold sputtered and struggled desperately in a painfully weak offense. “I told coach V that if things were to continue to go like how they were, I didn’t want to take pointless snaps and burn a redshirt if it was there for me to keep,” he told On3, referring to his decision to step back after playing four games.

On a June 9 episode of Andy & Ari, SoonerScoop.com’s Eddie Radosevich and George Stoia discussed how Arnold’s season serves as a lesson for him and the Sooners’ campaign. One topic they touched upon was the failure of Seth Littrell as the OC and the QB coach. “There was a lot of external factors that that played into it in terms of, you know, whether it was not really having a true quarterback’s coach. I mean, Seth Littrell was, you know, technically the quarterback’s coach. But, you know, he’s not somebody that’s coached quarterbacks a ton in his career, you know. I don’t think he meshed well with Jackson,” Stoia argued. That offense was so poor that Venables saw no way out but to fire Littrell midway through the season.

“I think that there were so many things around him, whether it was wide receiver injuries, offensive line shuffling, and then obviously the offensive coordinator situation that, you know, it wasn’t fair to him or Michael Hawkins, who came in and struggled too,” Stoia highlighted further. The offensive line allowed 3.85 sacks per game, making the Sooners rank 130 out of 133. And the WR room, which looked robust before the season started, dwindled down to freshmen receivers who were not prepared for the high stakes that followed. “For both the program and Jackson, he needed to get out of Norman. Because there was so much toxicity at the end of last season. It was going to be hard to kind of turn that thing around,” Radosevich added prior to Stoia’s comments.

That brutal chapter is now in the past for both Venables and Jackson Arnold. The HC is working relentlessly to ensure those horrors don’t revisit his 2025 campaign. However, the new quarterback has quite a rocky terrain to cover this season.

John Mateer and Brent Venables’ futures dark after Jackson Arnold’s horrors?

The Sooners’ 2024 run bruised Jackson Arnold terribly. John Mateer will be taking over from a program that ended his predecessor’s tenure. Despite being one of the most touted QB1s this season, experts still fear for Mateer’s future. Josh Pate talked about this aspect in a May 27 episode of his show. First, he began with his high hopes for the Sooners. “At Oklahoma, Brent Venables is extremely volatile. It looked like they were off to the races after that 10-win season in year two in 2023. I’m a believer in Oklahoma this year…I believe the talent’s there and I believe in the quarterback move, I believe in the coordinator move, I believe in the defense just continuing to be what they’ve been,” Pate said.

Venables has a new OC in, Ben Arbuckle, who was followed by Mateer from Washington State. And, the HC will take over defensive play-calling, taking matters into his own hands. For Mateer, however, the stakes are dangerously high. “But dude, you think about the pressure on a college football quarterback. John Mateer’s coming in there, and think about the pressure, man… Every one of their potential or expectation levels depend on whether you [Mateer] perform,” the analyst noted. Arnold and Venables have moved on from their pasts, but it is still too recent to overlook.

Does the program that derailed the Auburn QB’s starting season stand a chance to write a new chapter for its new starter? Both Jackson Arnold and Brent Venables are putting forward their best to improve from the disasters of last year. Mateer, on the other hand, has to take stock of the past to ensure that what happened with Arnold doesn’t happen with him.