The Oklahoma Sooners [autotag]2023 recruiting class[/autotag] doesn’t have a ton of commitments as they head into the summer. That’ll change in the next couple of months. Even with Ashton Cozart’s flip to Oregon, the Sooners remain in great shape to have one of the best recruiting classes in the country. And that’s because they have one of the better quarterback prospects in the country, [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].
Arnold is a four-star player out of Denton Guyer coming off of his first season as a starting quarterback at the varsity level. In that first season he led Guyer to the state championship game before falling short of the title. Looking to get back to the title game in 2022, Arnold has a chance to ascend recruiting rankings and earn a fifth star going into only his second season.
He was an important commitment for the 2023 class, which was left with just one player in the class after [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] moved on to USC. That didn’t thwart [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] or [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag], who got to work to add talent to a recruiting class that was just Joshua Bates at the time.
Looking ahead to 2023, Arnold is currently the No. 6 quarterback according to the 247Sports Composite rankings and the On3 Consensus rankings. ESPN has him as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback prospect in the 2023 class. ESPN’s Tom Luginbill recently took a look at each of the top quarterback prospects and provided their own scouting reports (ESPN+).
Going to be a really good player. Adequate size, well-built. Smooth stroke, ball jumps and finishes. Compact delivery. Deceptively good mobility. Has good feet and pocket mobility. Resourceful and can extend plays. Strong arm, can layer the ball. We like his feel for the game and instincts to create when things aren’t as planned. – Luginbill, ESPN
Luginbill also described Arnold as having “[autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] traits — gutsy, tough and quick to pull the trigger.”
Luginbill believes Arnold is a perfect fit for Jeff Lebby’s offense, which requires the quarterback to process quickly and play mistake-free football. Though he won’t be on campus until next year, Luginbill and the ESPN staff believe that Arnold could compete to start right away in 2023.
Though the Sooners have [autotag]Nick Evers[/autotag] on the roster and transfer quarterback [autotag]Davis Beville[/autotag], there’s no clear hierarchy at the quarterback position beyond [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]. Competing for a starting job as a freshman doesn’t seem completely out of the question.
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