Jackson Arnold admits he used to mock his best friend for being an Auburn fan

Jackson Arnold never expected to end up at Auburn. In fact, he used to detest the program. At the 2025 SEC Kickoff on Tuesday, the Auburn transfer quarterback revealed that he was a Georgia fan as a child, and actively disliked his current team.

“I was actually born in Georgia. I was a Georgia fan growing up,” Arnold said. “I know about all the rivalries down here — Georgia-Auburn. Auburn-Alabama, all the SEC rivalries.

“Shoot, my childhood best friend was a huge Auburn fan. I used to always give him crap for it when I was young but I understand the program, the tradition of Auburn and the weight that the name holds. I’m excited to uphold that standard.”

Arnold’s childhood best friend is undoubtedly smiling somewhere now. Arnold transferred to Auburn this offseason after spending two years at Oklahoma.

Arnold tallied 1,421 passing yards and 12 touchdowns for the Sooners last season while only throwing three interceptions. Arnold was also a formidable threat in the ground game, recording 444 rushing yards and three scores.

Alas, Arnold never reached his full potential at Oklahoma. Injuries ran rampant through the team’s offensive linemen, leading to weak protection for Arnold in the 2024 campaign. Oklahoma allowed 50 sacks last season, the most in the country.

In turn, Arnold faced injury issues himself throughout the season. To make matters worse, when Arnold was healthy, the team’s best receivers weren’t, often forcing the sophomore QB to face the SEC’s toughest defenses without viable weapons out wide.

Now, Arnold will have a fresh start with a program he once rooted against. He couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity.

“There’s some pressure, for sure. But you know, for me, I have a whole year of college football under my belt, playing in the SEC too, at that,” Arnold said, via SEC This Morning. “You’re not playing slouches every week. You have a tough schedule, every single week.

“I feel like last year, everything I went through, all the adversity I faced, really kind of built me up for this moment, this year… I’m just super excited to you know, get a fresh start and be around a new place, a new program that has some excitement around it. I’m trying to go out and play.”

Jackson Arnold will make his Auburn debut on Aug. 29 when the Tigers square off against Baylor at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air live on FOX.