Jordan Rodgers: Jackson Arnold 'revenge tour' starts vs. Oklahoma

There’s plenty of buzz around Jackson Arnold as he returns to Oklahoma for the first time since transferring to Auburn this offseason. Arnold spent two seasons with the Sooners, but left the program after a frustrating 2024 campaign.

Now, Arnold will look to remind Oklahoma what it lost as he marches into Norman on Saturday. During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show on Friday, SEC Network’s Jordan Rodgers weighed in on Jackson’s highly-anticipated return.

“I am just intrigued, so anxious to see Jackson Arnold in what I’m kind of calling the start of his revenge tour,” Rodgers said. “I know Oklahoma fans that feel a certain way about him, that’s totally fine.

“He got a lot of criticism for things that were outside of his control. He also got a lot of criticism because he didn’t play very well. And both things can be true at the same time.”

Arnold made 10 appearances for Oklahoma last season, including nine starts. He tallied 1,421 passing yards and 12 touchdowns in the 2024 campaign while only throwing three interceptions. He also recorded 444 rushing yards and three scores.

Alas, Oklahoma ultimately struggled, finishing the year with a 6-7 record. While Arnold shouldered his fair share of blame for the Sooners’ lackluster season, the team’s poor record was far from just his fault.

Injuries ran rampant through Oklahoma’s offensive line. The Sooners allowed 50 sacks last season, the most in the country. In turn, Arnold was deal with his own set of injuries throughout the season.

When Arnold was healthy, his receiving corps rarely was, leaving him throwing to Oklahoma’s backups. Rodgers believes Arnold could look like a different player on Saturday than the one Oklahoma fans grew accustomed to last year.

“They were banged up at offensive line. They had none of their receivers. The run game was terrible. A lot of it wasn’t Jackson’s fault. A lot of it was,” Rodgers said. “But Hugh Freeze has preached so much this offseason and the start of this season, how different of a quarterback Jackson Arnold is, and how he even adjusted his defensive plan and practices to make sure that they ended on positive notes and hit big plays to kind of build his quarterback’s confidence.

“We’re going to see that because he’s going to get hit in the mouth really early against a really good Oklahoma defense, and we’re going to learn pretty quickly. Is this the same Jackson Arnold we were used to seeing here in Norman last year, or is this a new version? Because if it’s a new version, they have weapons.”

Oklahoma and Auburn will square off at 2:30 CDT on Saturday. The game will air live on ABC.