Jackson Arnold delivers high praise on Hugh Freeze: 'He teaches some unique things'

QB Jackson Arnold has already played for several offensive coaches going into his junior year in college. The latest is Auburn’s Hugh Freeze who he says has showed him a whole new way to see the game.

Arnold spoke about what it’s been like so far playing for Freeze while on ‘SEC This Morning’ on Tuesday at SEC Media Days in Atlanta. He noted how distinct that he has shown to be in his coaching while breaking down some of what he has learned already from his new head coach.

“It’s been fun. He’s a funny guy too. Like, he’s fun to be around,” said Arnold. “You know, during practice, I mean, he’s serious but he’s always there to give us pointers or tell us off if we did something wrong, which I do appreciate. I do enjoy the coaching, his coaching style. Everything he’s taught me has been awesome.

“I feel like he’s unique. Like, he teaches some unique things. He talks about, like, splitting the field into halves or thirds and playing inside of the field. Like, it’s unique but it opened up kind of a whole different world for me when I came in the spring and really helped me to play a lot more efficiently.”

That credit isn’t just to Freeze, though, when it comes to his development thus far with the Tigers. Arnold also attributed the work of his quarterbacks coaches and offensive coordinator for helping him to play better through the spring down on The Plains.

“Being able to run the offense efficiently is something that I prided myself in in the spring and something that I work towards. And I feel like Coach Freeze coaching me, and not only Coach Freeze but Coach Austin and (Coach) Jesse in the (quarterback) room, Coach Nix, kind of just helping me out and kind of building me into that role was crucial this spring,” Arnold added.

Arnold, a former top recruit at quarterback, didn’t have a great first season as a starter. He finished at 62.6% completion for 1,421 yards, averaging 142.1 passing yards per game, with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions to bring him to, in total, 15 scores and eight turnovers in ten games at Oklahoma. That led to his benching for a span and, eventually, his transfer from the Sooners to the Tigers this offseason.

Freeze is then regarded as one of the better offensive coaches in the country, including his dozen years as a college head coach. His teams have averaged 31.8 points per game, which is an average finish in Top-50 in scoring offense, with 439.5 yards of offense. His past three, though, are among the worst he has had, including his two so far at Auburn as they’ve posted 27 ppg. and 390.3 yards on average.

Both sides of this connection could use some better, more efficient play on offense. That could be the result based on how Arnold says he has already taken to Freeze’s coaching going into this season.