Mason Young
Tulsa World OU Sports Reporter
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NORMAN — Jackson Arnold didn’t have it easy Saturday.
Coming back to play against his former team, where last season was a struggle, with fans jeering from the moment he stepped on the field? That’s the tough task Arnold was faced with.
But the now-Auburn quarterback handled his return to Oklahoma exceptionally well. He completed 21-of-32 (65%) passes for 220 yards and a touchdown in the 24-17 loss to the Sooners. Auburn coach Hugh Freeze was largely pleased with Arnold’s performance, given the adverse environment.
“I don’t think he had any concern whatsoever for the pre-whatever we call it,” Freeze said. “I think he was more concerned about that Oklahoma defense, like we all were. That was tough sledding. We’ll have to watch the film to see some of the earlier sacks. Could he have gotten it out? I don’t know. Those late ones, that’s a hard ask. 32’s gonna do that to a lot of teams in a two-minute drill.”
The nod to No. 32 was of course referring to OU defensive end R Mason Thomas’ game-sealing sack safety on Arnold. Thomas was asked if he took increased pleasure in flattening his former quarterback. The indication? No.
“You really can’t tell with the helmet on,” Thomas said. “I really couldn’t tell it was him because he had a little, I don’t know if it was eyeblack or something. But he had his shield on so you couldn’t really tell who was in that uniform. … So if he would have taken off his helmet I would have been like ‘Oh wait.’ But I couldn’t really tell.”
There didn’t appear to be any love lost between Arnold and his old friends. The Sooners tried not to think about Arnold during their week of preparation, but inevitably, thoughts seeped in on Saturday.
“This game, it was kind of different,” said OU receiver Deion Burks. “As a friend, as a buddy, you want to root for him. But in a game of battle, you’re just like, man, we’ve got to win and come out on top. Somebody’s got to lose. It was a great thing, man, just to watch him. He played a good game to me, but it was definitely a good thing.”
Arnold got a postgame hug from several former teammates, including safety Peyton Bowen, who was Arnold’s teammate at Denton Guyer High School and his roommate at OU.
“I was with those guys for two years and made some great friendships,” Arnold said. “Obviously I was with Peyton all throughout high school, so that’s one of my best friends right there. It obviously sucks we didn’t win the game, and I know we wanted to win, but it was good to see them after the game, people I haven’t seen in around nine or 10 months. It was good to see ‘em.”
OU coach Brent Venables searched for Arnold postgame but didn’t find him. Venables did offer some concluding praise for his former QB, though. Arnold’s poise in the moment ought to serve his future well, Venables believes.
“He’s got amazing courage and toughness,” Venables said. “He’s going to have plenty of amazing days. He had some amazing moments today, some great moments today. He’s still just a baby. All his best days are in front of him. He’s a young player and incredibly talented, great leader.
“For me, I don’t even have his stats, what he did — I know we sacked him (nine) times, but other than that, he made a great play, made some guys miss in the open field. I think he led all of college quarterbacks with the most forced missed tackles, and he did that to us today. He’s got great days in front of him.”
mason.young@tulsaworld.com
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Mason Young
Tulsa World OU Sports Reporter
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