Jackson Arnold has believers — and they're not just in Auburn

Even after a "rock bottom" 2024, there are plenty of people around the SEC who think Auburn's new starting quarterback will be a star.

(Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)

ATLANTA — Among qualified SEC quarterbacks last season, Jackson Arnold ranked 16th out of 16 in passing yards per attempt.

He also ranked 16th out of 16 in quarterback rating.

He also ranked 16th out of 16 in passing yardage.

Zoom out to look at all qualified FBS passers, and Arnold was No. 95 in the country in quarterback rating — and outside of the top 100 in the other two categories. According to Game On Paper, Arnold was No. 128 out of 130 in EPA per dropback. He was No. 123 in passing success rate and No. 125 in sack-adjusted yardage.

By all statistical accounts, Arnold was one of the least successful quarterbacks in all of college football last season. He was benched at Oklahoma just a few games into the season, only to reclaim his job later. When Arnold announced his decision to enter the transfer portal in early December, no one was surprised.

“I think for me, mentally, I needed to be in a new spot, to be around some other people in order to thrive,” Arnold said.

The numbers don’t show a quarterback who would be a team’s top choice for its starting job in 2025. That goes double for a fellow SEC team that, after four straight losing seasons, is desperate to win again.

And yet, there Arnold was on Tuesday in Atlanta, representing Auburn at SEC Media Days as the clear-cut favorite to be QB1 this fall.

“If I really want him to be my guy, then he’s gotta be my guy,” Hugh Freeze said earlier this week. “He’s gotta do it here.”

So much of Auburn’s chances at taking a necessary step forward this season rests on the shoulders of Arnold. Football is so much more than a one-man sport, but quarterback is 1 of 1 when it comes to importance in today’s game. A common thread through the Tigers’ streak of losing records has been inconsistent quarterback play.

Then why has Auburn staked a large portion of its hopes on a quarterback that, again, struggled more than any other signal-caller in the league last season?

Well, for starters, the team that he left didn’t want to lose him in the first place.