Media Days notepad: Jackson Arnold discusses Week 4 matchup with Oklahoma
ATLANTA, Georgia — Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold will face his former team this season, and he won’t have to wait long.
Arnold and the Tigers will head to Norman, Oklahoma in Week 4 (Sept. 20) to face off against the Sooners. The game will come just a few months after Arnold departed the Sooners for Auburn during the winter transfer portal window.
It’ll likely be an electric return for the former five-star prospect, who spent his first two seasons with the Sooners and was the starting quarterback for much of last year. The game will also kickoff conference play for both teams, and the Tigers will be looking to avenge their 27-21 loss to Oklahoma last season.
Arnold is looking forward to matching up against his former head coach, Brent Venables, and knows he’ll need to expect a lot of punches thrown on defense.
“It’ll be a challenge, just like every team we face in the SEC their defense is gonna be a challenge,” Arnold said during SEC Media Days. “I don’t think it’s just cause it’s Oklahoma. Our whole season is grueling. We play a bunch of good teams, a bunch of good defenses. It’s gonna be a tough one. Coach Venables is a fantastic defensive coach, great defensive mind.
“He’ll throw some stuff my way, which I probably won’t be expecting. But, just roll with the bunches and go from there.”
Josh Heupel discusses hiring Seth Littrell
The Tennessee head coach and former OU quarterback made a significant hire during the offseason, adding Seth Littrell as an offensive analyst.
Littrell — who played alongside Heupel at Oklahoma — spent last season as OU’s offensive coordinator before he was fired following the team’s 35-9 home loss to South Carolina.
“For Seth, (he’s) somebody that I’ve played with, got great trust in,” Heupel said. “He’s the kind of guy that’s going to be clear in his communication to me. His experience as a head coach is another tool that he brings to us. He’s had elite offenses with great players, done it at an extremely high level. His knowledge, expertise, his understanding of some of the things that we do offensively and the ability to bring some creative things that are maybe good additions to what we’re doing.
“Seth has been great for us since he got there in February, and we expect him to be a big part of what we’re doing.”
Tennessee to have a quarterback competition this fall
Before the Sooners face off against Tennessee in November, the Volunteers will have to figure out their quarterback situation.
With the departure of Nico lamaleava late in the spring, the Volunteers have scrambled a bit to replace him. Heupel announced that there will be a quarterback competition in fall camp between Joey Aguilar — who transferred from UCLA in May — and freshmen George MacIntyre and Jake Merklinger.
“We’ve found a way to win with a lot quarterbacks throughout my career on the offensive side of
the ball, and we’re going to find a way to win with the guy that earns a starting spot as we go through training camp here in August,” Heupel said.
Arnold compares Red River Rivalry and the Iron Bowl
Arnold became familiar with the annual OU-Texas rivalry, although he never stepped on the field against Texas. But he’ll now be the starter for Auburn in this year’s Iron Bowl rivalry game against Alabama.
He was asked to compare the two rivalries during SEC Media Days.
Honestly, OU-Texas, there’s a lot of hate. But I feel like the people here just cannot stand Alabama. It’s unbelievable. OU-Texas, it’s very similar. Honestly, it’s not far off. I feel those two rivalries are probably the two best rivalries in college football. But I feel like if you mention Alabama here, somebody would look at you funny.
“We even have a rule in our facility, you can’t wear red in our facility at all. If you do, you lose points and you have to do up/downs.”
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