Hugh Freeze details how Auburn hopes to help Jackson Arnold limit mistakes

Jackson Arnold is one of just three SEC starting quarterbacks without an interception, but that doesn’t mean the Auburn junior quarterback has been mistake-free this season. And as the Tigers (3-2, 0-2 SEC) enter their first bye week of the 2025 season, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is determined to fix whatever is holding Arnold back ahead of next week’s rivalry game vs. No. 10 Georgia.

Freeze opened up about how the Tigers coaching staff went about evaluating and addressing their beleaguered offense, which ranks 14th out of 16 SEC teams averaging just 342.2 total yards per game this season. And it all starts with Arnold.

“We’ve looked at everything from the depth of his drops, to see if he can have better vision. We had a couple of batted balls that (were going to) open guys, so we’re looking at the depth of his drops for each of the different kind of concepts that we have (offensively),” Freeze said Wednesday during his weekly appearance on the SEC Coaches Teleconference. “Obviously getting the ball out of his hands quicker is advantageous, but defenses can take that away also. The progression from (receiver options) 1 to 2, he’s pretty dang good, but we’ve got to get him better to that third guy.

“And there’s some (specific play) concepts that he’s really good at, so what does that tell me as a coach, and like I tell our other coaches, lets find more dang ways to do that concept,” Freeze continued. “Because that’s obviously one he feels really, really good about. I’d say we probably had too many different ideas for those games and I assure you our focus on preparing for Georgia will not be that.”

It’s as a passer where Arnold has struggled the most, currently ranking 15th in the SEC averaging just 169.2 passing yards per game — just ahead of Kentucky freshman Cutter Boley, who’s only played in three games this season. And while he’s been a key contributor to Auburn’s ground game with 192 rushing yards and five scores on the ground, it hasn’t been enough to spark the Tigers’ offense that is averaging just 13.5 points per game in SEC play this season.

In fact, Arnold has contributed just two combined touchdowns in SEC road games against Top 10 teams Oklahoma and Texas A&M the past two weeks. Arnold currently ranks 13th in the SEC in total offense, averaging just 207.6 yards per game through the first five weeks of the regular season.

Paul Finebaum criticizes Jackson Arnold, assigns him blame for Auburn struggles

Auburn fans are searching for answers after starting 0-2 in conference play. During an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Monday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum blamed Auburn’s struggles on quarterback Jackson Arnold.

“It’s easy to take shots, and I understand it. We’ve all heard the same thing since Saturday afternoon, but it’s difficult to win when you have a quarterback as ineffective as Jackson Arnold,” Finebaum said. “He doesn’t make great decisions.

“I don’t have a ranking of the 16 SEC quarterbacks in front of me, but I know where he’s not, and I have a pretty good idea where he is. He’s at or near the bottom, and that’s really the problem. You can say Hugh Freeze can’t call the right play, can’t get the right movement going, but, ultimately, this quarterback makes very poor decisions.”

— On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.