Hugh Freeze explains what made him recruit Jackson Arnold

With how the position has gone for the team through his two seasons, Hugh Freeze had to get it right at quarterback this year at Auburn. Some think he may have, too, with the transfer addition of QB Jackson Arnold.

In an appearance on ‘See Ball, Get Ball’ with David Pollack, Freeze discussed why Arnold was the Tigers’ transfer target at quarterback this offseason. That started with Freeze’s evaluation of him in thinking his skill set was made to run his offense and has been since he came out as a top prospect from Denton, Texas.

“Yeah, well, truthfully, it comes back to what I saw from him out of high school. I just thought he was elite,” Freeze said. “I thought, I mean, obviously, he was Gatorade Player of the Year and, you know, maybe the number one quarterback in the country coming out of high school and everybody wanted him. And I thought he had all of the natural ability that it takes to run the offense I want to run.”

How Freeze felt about how last season went for Arnold at Oklahoma went into that, especially considering how high the Sooners were on him before it began. He didn’t necessarily play well either, but there were more issues to that offensively than just his own struggles.

“You know, studying the Oklahoma film? And, I think others felt that way too, even at Oklahoma when, you know, you let a guy like Dillon Gabriel walk out the door believing you have – I would assume that was the feeling, that you’ve got a guy here that’s the heir apparent,” said Freeze. “I just think it was very difficult circumstances, which all of us walk through at times. Where, I mean, what’d he have, three different coordinators in one year? And, all of the receivers were injured, some of the O-line was injured. And, it just, I think it was an unfortunate circumstance and I don’t know that it’s really anybody’s fault. It just, it was a thing that I think kind of compiled.”

In his first year as a starter at OU, Arnold would appear in 10 games total with him being benched for a stretch to QB Michael Hawkins. He’d finish by posting 62.6% completion for 1,421 yards, 12 touchdowns, and three picks with a total of 15 scores and eight turnovers on the season. That was far from the production that the fans in Norman thought they’d be getting from a former Five-Star+, top-five quarterback commitment who took the place of Gabriel.

Because of that, in taking his commitment, Freeze said he had to consider whether or not Auburn could build Arnold back up. Thankfully for them to this point, he thinks that they have rebuilt him over this spring and summer with the offense and weapons he has on The Plains.

“He lost some confidence, I believe, and maybe was a little hesitant to pull the trigger, you know,” said Freeze. “I think Payton (Thorne) was that way for us in year one too where, man, is the guy really going to get out of the break and win at the top end of that route, and can I let that thing go.”

“I think the biggest question I had, though, was, man, can we restore the confidence that I saw and the swagger that I saw with that guy that was the Gatorade Player of the Year coming out of high school that all of us wanted when he came out?” Freeze said. “I think (we’ve gotten it back). I thought, spring, he had that swagger. Now, I think what helped, obviously, is him realizing, ‘Dang, I got a one-on-one with Cam Coleman? This dude may make the play if I just put it in the right spot’. Or Eric Singleton or Malcolm Simmons or Perry Thompson or, you know, Horatio Fields. I mean, we’ve got some guys that I think can make you have some confidence. And, I think it grew and grew and grew throughout spring and he continues to lead, you know, our played-led 7-on-7s this summer. And, I think he’s, I think his confidence has grown…I think his confidence has grown, for sure.”

It remains to be seen what version of Arnold that Auburn could get, whether one who’s still similar to what we saw a year ago or one who may have taken that step in his development. The latter is who Freeze will obviously be hoping for with that being who the Tigers will need this fall.