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Hugh Freeze on Jackson Arnold: 'Certainly it didn't work out to the level that he and I expected and that's why I'm sitting here'

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax6 hours agoBarkleyTruax

Hugh Freeze recruited Jackson Arnold out of the NCAA transfer portal last offseason with the intent on him leading Auburn to new heights under his leadership. Instead, Freeze was fired and Arnold was benched before the season was up.

During a sit-down interview with Auburn Sports’ Justin Hokanson, Freeze revealed what went wrong for Arnold during his first season with the Tigers. To Freeze, there were a number of factors that went into it.

“Let’s be clear, this is not a beat up Jackson deal. It’s never, always the quarterback. There are other factors. I mean, he missed a touchdown throw here at Oklahoma to a wide open Cam Coleman. Those plays you’ve got to make to win games. And he would say that too. And there’s also the Missouri game where we have what? Eight drops? Then there’s moments in the Georgia second half where he misses open guys, or the protection is not great, so it’s a combination of all those things.

“But certainly, it didn’t work out to the level that he nor I both expected for him and our team. And that’s why I’m sitting here.”

Arnold finished the 2025 season with 1,309 passing yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. He added another 311 yards on the ground and eight more touchdowns along the way. He finished the year as the team’s leading passer, but Ashton Daniels and Deuce Knight were given the nod toward the back half of the season.

It was a similar situation for Arnold last season at his previous school, Oklahoma. Arnold split time with freshman Michael Hawkins throughout the season after beginning the year as the mains starter. That season he was responsible for over 1,850 yards of total offense and 15 touchdowns.

Arnold’s struggles at Auburn came after a 3-0 start to the year that even saw the Tigers spend two weeks in the AP Poll during September. Auburn was ranked as high as No. 22 before going on to lose seven of its last nine games of the season. Freeze was fired after Auburn started the year 4-5.

The Tigers were led by defensive coordinator DJ Durkin for the rest of the season. Auburn has since named USF‘s Alex Golesh as its next head coach, who will retain Durkin on his initial staff in 2026.