Cole Cubelic reveals why Jackson Arnold 'needs a reset' after Oklahoma transfer

In 2023, Jackson Arnold arrived as the crown jewel of Oklahoma’s recruiting class. But after two years in Norman, he entered the transfer portal and will now suit up for Hugh Freeze at Auburn – looking for, in the words of Cole Cubelic, a “reset.”

Arnold arrived at OU as a Five Star Plus+ recruit, meaning he was one of the only players ranked by all four major recruiting media companies as a five-star. He was the No. 8 overall player and No. 4-ranked quarterback out of the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

To Cubelic, that evaluation shows the “ability” Arnold possesses as he gets ready for Year 1 at Auburn. As a result, he wondered if a change of scenery could help the Denton (TX) Guyer product get back on track after an up-and-down two years.

“They have a quarterback that has every bit of ability of most other quarterbacks in college football,” Cubelic said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “Jackson Arnold was the Gatorade Player of the Year for a reason. He was a Five Star Plus+ … for a reason. He’s got all the arm talent. He’s got great wheels, great agility.

“Paul, he just needs a reset, mentally and emotionally. There were times last year where he literally could not let go of the football.”

Cubelic also noted a conversation he had with former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy about playing for a defensive-minded coach as Arnold did for Brent Venables. McElroy did so for Nick Saban, who came up as a defensive coordinator before becoming the widely considered greatest coach of all-time.

During a recent show, McElroy discussed the idea of a conservative message from defensive-minded head coaches to quarterbacks. That could have been the case for Arnold at OU, and with an offensive-minded coach in Freeze, it could lead to more aggressive play-calling.

“As you know, I do radio with Greg McElroy every day, and Greg went on a long rant one day when we were talking about Jackson Arnold, discussing the difficulties of playing quarterback for a defensive-minded head coach,” Cubelic recalled. “And I had never really thought about that. Greg talked about how the message often was, ‘Don’t screw this up, don’t mess this up. Don’t make the big mistake. Whatever you do, just get us out of this jam.’ And I started thinking about Lincoln Riley and Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, and I thought to myself, ‘Do those guys ever say those things?’ Absolutely not.

“Lane Kiffin’s sitting there telling you to attack, attack, attack. Jeff Lebby’s sitting there telling you, ‘Let’s go get it, man. Go out there, take your chances, find your spot and let’s go put points on the board.’ So I could see where maybe that creeped in a bit. The offensive line was beat up. There were a lot of things working against Jackson Arnold. But it doesn’t change the fact that he needs to be coached and he needs to be coached hard.”