Jackson Arnold – Syndication Server

247Sports projects Jackson Arnold to have big season at Auburn

Brad Crawford of 247Sports expects Arnold to thrive despite a disappointing 2024 season at Oklahoma.

Oklahoma transfer quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] was hyped to have a strong debut season for the Sooners in 2024. However, he failed to meet expectations and decided to find a new home at season’s end.

Arnold landed at Auburn out of the transfer portal, which is seen as a prime place to clean his slate. Because of his new situation, one college football expert believes that Arnold could be one of the sport’s best quarterbacks in 2025.

Brad Crawford of 247Sports recently dropped his projection of “college football’s top 10 quarterbacks of the 2025 season” and placed Arnold at the No. 10 slot. Crawford cites that Auburn’s offense will allow Arnold to excel.

Former Oklahoma signal caller Jackson Arnold should benefit from that along with better play up front. That’s right — the guy the Sooners temporarily benched during last fall’s spiral could be one of the SEC’s best in 2025. Arnold was sacked 34 times in 10 starts last season, including 16 times total in losses to South Carolina and Ole Miss. Hugh Freeze has to hit a grand slam with this Arnold acquisition — or else.

Arnold passed for 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns while throwing three interceptions for Oklahoma in 10 games during the 2024 season. Most of his issues were due to poor play by Oklahoma’s offensive line and receivers.

Oklahoma held the honor of being the SEC’s worst passing offense last season by throwing for 2,286 yards and 19 touchdowns. Arnold completed 62.6% of his passes last season, with 12 being dropped by Sooner receivers. In terms of pressure, opposing defenses pressured Arnold 132 times, 36 of which resulted in sacks according to data from Pro Football Focus.

Crawford expects Arnold’s production to increase thanks to Auburn’s experienced offensive line and talented receiving corps. Crawford projects Arnold to complete 65% of his passes for 2,910 yards and 25 scores while rushing for 575 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in 2025.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

Where does Jackson Arnold land among The Oklahoman’s SEC quarterback rankings?

Arnold will get a fresh start in Auburn this fall. How will he perform in his new uniform?

Auburn football revamped its quarterback room by landing two players with starting experience from the transfer portal.

Former Oklahoma starting quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and ex-Stanford signal caller [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag] join the roster ahead of next season and will compete alongside true freshman Deuce Knight for the right to be named QB1 of the Auburn Tigers.

According to Ryan Aber of The Oklahoman, Arnold is projected to be named starter for Hugh Freeze’s offense in 2025. However, Aber does not expect Arnold to kickstart Auburn’s offense to stellar improvement. In his ranking of potential SEC starting quarterbacks, he places Arnold at No. 12.

Aber cites Arnold’s struggles in 2024 as the reason for his low ranking. However, Auburn should provide a better supporting cast to help Arnold succeed.

The TIgers’ offense was boom or bust this season, struggling with turnovers for much of the year. Enter Arnold, who had a rough first season as a starter with 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns with just three interceptions though he struggled with ball-security issues. Arnold rushed for 444 yards and three touchdowns. Much of his struggles were tied into the lack of protection from OU’s offensive line and a lack of targets among wide receivers. Arnold still has the potential that made him one of the most coveted quarterbacks in the 2023 class.

Auburn returns four of its five starting offensive linemen from the 2024 season, and will have a strong replacement for [autotag]Izavion Miller[/autotag] at right tackle in Virginia Tech transfer [autotag]Xavier Chaplin[/autotag]. Auburn’s receivers will also provide more reliable targets for Arnold. Auburn landed the transfer portal’s No. 1 receiver in [autotag]Eric Singleton[/autotag] last month, who will mesh with [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Malcolm Simmons[/autotag], and [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] to form one of the best receiving units in the country.

Arnold is ahead of Alabama‘s Ty Simpson, Mississippi State’s Blake Shapen, Missouri’s Beau Pribula, and Kentucky‘s Zach Calzada in Aber’s rankings. LSU‘s Garrett Nussmeier takes the top spot as focus begins to shift to the 2025 season.

USA TODAY Sports releases its final 2024 re-rank. Where is Auburn?

Where did Auburn finish in the final USA TODAY Sports re-rank by Paul Myerberg?

The Auburn Tigers’ 2024 season did not go as planned, thus resulting in a 5-7 record and no postseason bid for the second time in three seasons.

Auburn’s disappointing season can be reflected in USA TODAY Sports’ final re-rank of the season. Auburn won two of its final three games, however, a 14-point loss to Alabama knocks the Tigers down to a final resting place of No. 86, a six-spot drop from the beginning of bowl season.

Good news for Auburn is that [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and his staff have worked tirelessly this offseason to improve its roster through the transfer portal. The Tigers have the No. 4 transfer portal class for the 2025 cycle according to 247Sports after landing several notable additions including quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], four-star tackle [autotag]Xavier Chaplin[/autotag], and four-star safety [autotag]Raion Strader[/autotag].

The national champion Ohio State Buckeyes claim the top spot in the year-end rankings, jumping four spots from No. 5. UConn made the largest stride in the ranking by climbing 18 spots to No. 59 while Oklahoma fell 16 spots to No. 64 following its bowl loss to Navy.

Where does John Mateer land in The Oklahoman’s ranking of SEC QBs?

Where does John Mateer rank among SEC quarterbacks according to The Oklahoman?

The Oklahoma Sooners are hoping for a total turnaround on the offensive side of the football in 2025. The 2024 season was a nightmare and OU fell to a 6-7 record primarily because of ineptitude on offense.

Head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] can’t survive another bad season in Norman, and he’s got to engineer a very impressive 2025 season to avoid a full free-fall into John Blake territory.

One of the primary reasons for optimism in Norman is transfer portal quarterback [autotag]John Mateer[/autotag], a gigantic portal win for Veanbles and his coaching staff. The former Washington State QB led the FBS in total touchdowns in 2024, his first year as a starter for the Cougars and in college football overall.

But there is no lack of great quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference, though the Sooners look to have a player who can get the job done in the conference again after lacking in that department last year. The [autotag]SEC[/autotag] is loaded with stars at that position, and The Oklahoman looked to rank the 16 projected starting quarterbacks next year, now that the 2024 season has concluded.

Staff writer Ryan Aber pegged Mateer as the No. 6 QB in the league for 2025, sandwiching him between Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier tops Aber’s list, followed by Florida’s D.J. Lagway, Texas’ Arch Manning, and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers.

Mateer was excellent for Washington State after two seasons behind Cam Ward. Aber said. The Little Elm, Texas, product threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns with just seven interceptions and ran for 826 yards and 21 touchdowns. Landing Mateer was one of the Sooners’ biggest wins of the offseason. – Aber, The Oklahoman

The Sooners will have to get a star effort from Mateer far more often than not in 2025 because there are still plenty of holes elsewhere on offense. Mateer also ranked six spots above his predecessor, Auburn’s [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], who landed at No. 12 on the list.

The Tigers’ offense was boom or bust this season, struggling with turnovers for much of the year. Enter Arnold, who had a rough first season as a starter with 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns with just three interceptions though he struggled with ball-security issues. Arnold rushed for 444 yards and three touchdowns. Much of his struggles were tied into the lack of protection from OU’s offensive line and a lack of targets among wide receivers. Arnold still has the potential that made him one of the most coveted quarterbacks in the 2023 class. – Aber, The Oklahoman

What has Sooner Nation excited is that Mateer seems to be set up for success much more than Arnold was. Arnold had the trio of Seth Littrell, Joe Jon Finely, and Kevin Johns as co-offensive coordinators throughout various portions of the 2024 season. Mateer has [autotag]Ben Arbuckle[/autotag] as the sole play-caller and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2025.

Mateer will also have [autotag]John Kuceyeski[/autotag] as his senior offensive assistant/assistant quarterbacks coach next season, another familiar face from his days at WSU. Arnold wasn’t working with a coordinator or an official position coach who had coached his position before until Littrell was fired and Johns held the role in the interim.

Venables has clearly made it a point of emphasis to handle the quarterback spot (and hopefully the entire offensive leadership as a whole) better than he did in 2024. Oklahoma should show a lot of improvement on offense in 2024.

Mateer is also a proven commodity under center, while Arnold, a former five-star prospect, is still hoping he can live up to his potential.

Overall, it’s an upgrade at a position that desperately needed one. Will it be enough to propel the Sooner offense back to the heights we’ve all seen it at before? And would that offensive improvement be enough to get the program back to its winning ways in a crucial season in 2025? We’ll have to wait until late August to begin to find out.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.

Many eyes set upon Auburn’s ‘interesting’ QB situation as offseason approaches

The Athletic’s Antonio Morales says that Auburn’s QB room overhaul will be interesting to watch play out.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s decision to not pursue a transfer quarterback following the 2023 season quickly haunted him. This offseason, he is learning from his miscalculation by overhauling the Tigers’ entire quarterback room ahead of the 2025 season.

Auburn’s newest quarterback situation has earned a spot within The Athletic’s 10 most interesting quarterback situations list. Antonio Morales of The Athletic is interested in seeing how Freeze and the Tigers adjust to additions [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag], and if Auburn’s inconsistencies at the position continue.

Neither is a sure bet to hit, but Auburn does have solid talent at receiver, which should help whoever starts at quarterback. Both are run threats, which is beneficial for Freeze’s offense, too. Having those two also means that four-star signee and top-50 prospect Deuce Knight doesn’t have to play right away. The Tigers flipped Knight from Notre Dame and held off a late Ole Miss push. His development will be something to monitor.

Although Daniels is the more experienced quarterback of the two, Arnold appears to be the guy to beat heading into spring practice. Arnold, the former five-star recruit and Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, passed for 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns for Oklahoma in 2024. He eclipsed the 200-yard mark in passing twice last season, and rushed for 131 yards in the Sooners’ win over Alabama in November.

Auburn also added former South Carolina quarterback [autotag]Tanner Bailey[/autotag] to its room following the transfer of [autotag]Walker Whit[/autotag]e to Baylor. Auburn’s three transfer additions are being used to buy time for the development of true freshman [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag], who is seen as “the future” of the offense.

The winning quarterback will be tasked with producing at a higher rate than last season’s starter, Payton Thorne, who passed for 2,713 yards and 21 scores in 2024. Thorne ended the year by completing 62.8% of his passes and reaching a career-best quarterback rating of 150.8.

Former Auburn quarterback transfers to Texas State

Geriner never saw much playing time in his three seasons as a Tiger.

Former Auburn highly-touted quarterback recruit [autotag]Holden Geriner [/autotag]officially committed to Texas State on Monday. Geriner, who spent three seasons as a Tiger, will now head to the Sun Belt with two years of eligibility remaining.

The Savannah, Georgia native was a four-star recruit in the 2022 cycle, but never spent much time under center during his Tiger tenure. After completing 2 of 3 passes for 8 yards in his redshirt freshman season, the junior threw just 17 more attempted passes in his next two seasons on the Plains, including a career-low 2 attempts in 2024. He did not register a touchdown, but did throw an interception.

Now headed to Texas State, Geriner follows the same path former Auburn quarterback [autotag]T.J. Finlay[/autotag] took a few seasons ago. Finlay, who started his career at LSU before transferring to Auburn, infamously took over the signal-caller role from [autotag]Bo Nix[/autotag] during Bryan Harsin’s tenure on the Plains before transferring to Texas State in 2023. He was extremely successful during his time with the Bobcats, indicating Geriner could end up prospering as well at a less talented program where he could earn more snaps.

With Geriner officially out of the picture, Auburn’s quarterback room is all but set with likely starter [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], freshman [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag], and Stanford transfer [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag].

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch

Former South Carolina QB joins Auburn’s roster

Auburn has officially rounded out its QB room for the 2025 season.

The original plan for [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and the Auburn coaching staff was to sign two transfer quarterbacks this offseason. Freeze achieved that goal by landing former Oklahoma quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and ex-Stanford quarterback [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag].

However, his plans were altered as freshman [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] announced his decision to leave the program, leaving one more spot to fill. The good news for Freeze is that he did not have to look far to land his third transfer quarterback.

Auburn football landed a commitment from former South Carolina quarterback [autotag]Tanner Bailey[/autotag] this week to officially round out the 2025 quarterback room. Bailey will join the roster as a walk-on.

Bailey’s story is unique. He signed with South Carolina as a three-star quarterback from the 2022 cycle out of Gordo High School (Alabama). He played in one game for the Gamecocks during the 2023 season, where his only stat was a -7-yard rush in South Carolina’s win over Furman. After the season, Bailey decided to hang up his cleats and pursue other opportunities as a student.

Bailey returned to his home state to enroll at Auburn University, his dream school. He tells USA TODAY Sports that Auburn coaches approached him about joining the team in December—a chance he couldn’t pass up.

“Everybody that knows me, I’m a lifelong, die-hard Auburn fan,” Bailey said in an interview with USA TODAY Sports. “For me, if you ask the 5-year-old Tanner: ‘What’s your lifelong dream?’, this is probably what it is. It’s awesome, I’m super excited.”

With Bailey joining the program, Auburn has now signed four quarterbacks to fill the room for the 2025 season. In addition to the transfer of Arnold and Daniels, five-star quarterback [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] will compete for the starting quarterback job beginning this spring.

Tigers ranked among top 10 in ‘Way, way too early 2025 rankings’ by On3

It is only January, but Auburn football is already a player in College Football Playoff discussions for 2025.

The 2024 college football season may not be over, but analysts around the sport are already preparing for what promises to be a contentious 2025 campaign. With the path to a national championship seemingly as wide open as its ever been thanks to the transfer portal and NIL, the power landscape should shift year to year.

Programs such as Auburn, who had a rough season in 2024, could very well see themselves upwardly swerving into contenders in 2025. On3’s Andy Staples and Ani Wasserman, who just released their ‘Way Too Early 2025′ Rankings’, sees a trio of underachieving 2024 SEC programs, including Auburn, becoming elite next season.

Staples and Wasserman ranked the Tigers as the No. 10 team in the country in their rankings, crediting [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s work in the last two recruiting classes and the transfer portal additions of [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and [autotag]Eric Singleton Jr.[/autotag] for Auburn’s hypothetical turnaround. Florida, who also underachieved in 2024, checks in one spot above the Tigers, at No. 9 in the rankings.

Other than Florida and Auburn, Texas (No. 1), Georgia (No. 6), and South Carolina (No. 7) round out the five SEC programs ranked among the top 10 spots. Texas and Georgia were the only two teams to finish the 2024 year ranked among the CFP top 10, while South Carolina narrowly missed the 12-team Playoff field after finishing the season with six consecutive victories.

While the SEC has the most programs in the ‘Way Too Early’ top 10, the BIG 10 features the most in the top 5, with Oregon (No. 2), 2024 National Championship favorites Ohio State (No. 3), and Penn State (No. 4), representing the conference. Notre Dame (No. 5) and Clemson (No. 8) also earned spots in the top 10, making Florida, Auburn, and South Carolina the lone programs ranked among the elite to not earn a Playoff spot in 2024.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch

Clemson transfer edge A.J. Hoffler expected to take trip to the Plains

The former Clemson Tiger accumulated 15 tackles in two seasons before entering the transfer portal.

Transfer portal defensive end [autotag]A.J. Hoffler[/autotag] is expected to visit Auburn on Sunday according to Auburn Live.

Hoffler spent two seasons in the ACC at Clemson, and was the No. 25 ranked edge rusher in his class coming out of high school. Now 20 years old, the Atlanta, Georgia native may be looking to move down I-85, and up a shade of orange, next season.

In two seasons with the Tigers, Hoffler collected 15 total tackles, defending one pass as well. While the 6-4 EDGE physically gifted edge rusher saw limited snaps with his original team, his seniority and tools may give him a chance to become an impact member of Auburn’s defensive front.

As it currently stands, Auburn’s starting edge rushers are likely breakout star [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag] and highly-touted freshman [autotag]Jared Smith[/autotag]. With Smith having not played a single snap of college football, Hoffler could have an early advantage for snaps if he were to join Hugh Freeze’s squad next season.

With Hoffler’s visit imminent, Auburn’s head coach and his staff will look to add the talented edge rusher to an already great transfer portal class that mostly includes offensive weapons such as quarterbacks [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag], wide receiver [autotag]Eric Singleton[/autotag], and offensive lineman [autotag]Xavier Chaplin[/autotag].

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch

On3 tabs Auburn an ‘early transfer portal winner’

QB Jackson Arnold and WR Eric Singleton are just a few of the hot names Auburn has added to its 2025 roster through the transfer portal.

Auburn football aims to contend for the SEC Championship and a College Football Playoff bid in 2025 and is building a roster suited to handle the challenges that come with the goal.

Ahead of the NCAA Transfer Portal window closing on Dec. 28, Pete Nakos of On3 has dropped his picks for “early transfer portal winners’ with Auburn being listed among the top programs that have made an early splash by filling needs with talented players.

Nakos places Auburn at No. 4 on the list, trailing Ole Miss, LSU, and Texas Tech for the top spot. Nakos points out that [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and his staff have made up for a grave mistake that was made during last season’s transfer portal window by filling a key need on offense.

Auburn and Hugh Freeze learned from a year ago it needed to add a portal quarterback. The Tigers landed two in the process this year. (Jackson) Arnold has starting experience in the SEC and will now play in Freeze’s offense, and (Ashton) Daniels is a proven starter from his time at Stanford. Auburn did not stop there, adding three wide receivers highlighted by the No. 1 player in the On3 Industry Transfer Portal Rankings in (Eric) Singleton. Next to a few other programs, the Tigers will have one of the top wide receiver rooms in the nation in 2024.

Auburn currently has the nation’s No. 4 transfer portal haul by landing 14 transfer portal pledges since the opening of the window on Dec. 3. Former Georgia Tech wide receiver [autotag]Eric Singleton[/autotag] and former Virginia Tech tackle [autotag]Xavier Chaplin[/autotag] headline the transfer class, with other notable names such as Oklahoma quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], Wake Forest wide receiver [autotag]Horatio Fields[/autotag], and Miami (Ohio) cornerback [autotag]Raion Stader[/autotag] coming aboard.