The tables have turned for Hugh Freeze. What came off as a hot steal from the Oklahoma Sooners might be bothering the Auburn Tigers’ HC now. We are talking about their QB, Jackson Arnold. Now, he’s got to battle both the QB of his time hype and those SEC dark horses, Garrett Nussmeier and Arch Manning. While Arnold still had to prove himself for the QB role, an analyst ponders about another big role for the player. Meanwhile, HC Freeze is too protective about his QB and comes up with a quadruple gift. 

Arnold’s locked in with Freeze’s crew, but his Sooner stint? Total rollercoaster. He kicked off as the starter in ’24, lost the gig, then grabbed it back as they scraped to 6-6. In that stretch, he completed 154 of 246 passes for 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns, hitting 62.6% of his attempts. He also added 444 yards on 150 rushing attempts. As a freshman, last season playing behind Dillon Gabriel, he appeared in seven games and was 44 of 69 yards. As Gabriel went for the Ducks, moving closer to home, they brought in Arnold as the starting QB because “the staff felt better about his upside.” However, in Freeze’s squad, the player is on high alert as he has big roles to fill. 

On the ESPN College Football podcast, analyst Greg McElroy dished out a big question for the Auburn HC. “The big question mark for Auburn this year is what do they do at running back?” The analyst then brought Arnold into the chat. He continued, “Which kind of leads me…I think Jackson Arnold is going to be a big part of what they are in the run game.” Maybe McElroy has picked up the hints. Now that Freeze has landed two transfer quarterbacks in total, the other being Ashton Daniels from Stanford, he must have some plans. With this, Freeze might take up some risk in running Arnold, because even if he gets “b- – – – d up,” Daniels can take over.

McElroy stated, “I expect him [Arnold] to run the ba-l. They went out and took two transfer quarterbacks which only further indicates that they’re going to be willing to run Jackson Arnold throughout the season.” In that case, Arnold needs to have the quintessential factor of mobility. Well, he has already proved himself back in the Sooners club. In Oklahoma’s 34-19 home win over Tulane, the sophomore QB ran the pigskin 14 times for a career-high 97 yards and two touchdowns. He led the team 69 yards into the end zone, and he capped the drive off with a one-yard touchdown run. All Arnold needs to worry about is his footwork, and Freeze has got the rest covered.  

Hugh Freeze is building a wall of steel for Jackson Arnold 

The HC is on a mission to fortify his fortress. They are planning to channel their focus on bolstering their O-line for the 2026 class. Now, this accounts for a “quadruple gift” for Arnold. So who are the four players that are going to protect the signal caller? The 5-star interior offensive lineman from Richmond, Virginia, Darius Gray. It’s going to be a steal deal for Auburn. As analyst Darrell Dapprich stated, “He [Gray] would be, obviously, the highest-rated offensive lineman if Auburn was to get him in this upcoming class. He’s the crown jewel—the one that Auburn wants.” Now, who is going next in becoming Arnold’s shield?

That’s Dominic Harris, from Las Vegas, Nevada. Even though he might be catching some side eyes for his 3-star rating, it’s better not to get fooled by the 6’7” and 335 pounder’s rating. We must instead focus on the buffet of offers he now has on his table—Utah, Arizona State, and Washington. Time for the third name!

The kid from Georgia, Wilson Zierer. He already has some connection with Hugh Freeze’s squad, as his brother, Zillian Zierer, played for the Tigers. He too has offers from Auburn and Alabama. The last one that would make the fourth pillar of the quadrangular safety net for Jackson Arnold is Dalton Toothman. The star from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, is also a three-star guy holding a towering presence of 6’5” and 295 pounds. Arnold can lock in on his reads while Freeze works overtime to erase any echoes of Payton Thorne’s 26-sack disaster.