Brent Venables evaluates opportunity to get Jackson Arnold on field

Oklahoma has gotten its five-star freshman quarterback Jackson Arnold involved early, if not often, during the 2023 season. In a 28-11 win over SMU, Arnold again saw snaps.

This time he carried the ball four times and picked up 11 yards, including one conversion on fourth-and-1. But he was also stuffed on another fourth-and-1 attempt, and coach Brent Venables said that’s part of the learning process as he continues to get acclimated to the college level.

“Yeah it was pretty good. We’ve got to get that first down on fourth-and-1,” Venables said. “He’ll learn the timing and fits and when to bounce and when to keep it tight. But it was a good change of pace.”

So far through two games, Arnold has run nine times for 50 yards and a touchdown and also gone 11-of-11 passing for 114 yards and a touchdown. But all the passing so far has come in mop-up duty.

Saturday’s snaps against SMU came when the game was still in the balance, and Arnold was used exclusively as a runner.

That’s not to say that will continue going forward, though. Venables hinted there’s a lot more they can do with the rocket-armed freshman within the package they’ve given him to work with.

“There’s quite a bit more in that package, and something that he can do a lot of stuff,” Venables said. “And as we all know, he can spin it. So we’ll continue to get him opportunities when it fits and the timing’s right.”

Arnold’s talent is undeniable. It’s one of the reasons he was so highly coveted out of high school.

As a 2023 prospect, Jackson Arnold was ranked as the No. 8 overall player in the nation. He was the No. 4 quarterback in the class and the No. 2 player in the state of Texas, hailing from Denton (TX) Guyer.

As such, he’ll continue to be used for the Sooners when the situation calls for it.

Of course, for now, Arnold hasn’t done quite enough to earn his package a nickname, something Venables laughed about when asked.

“It’s just a sub package,” he said. “Just taking out a linebacker and putting in a DB.”

Eventually you have to figure Arnold is going to be given the green light to let it rip and test that extra defensive back. But time will tell.

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