AUBURN, Ala. – The highest-rated quarterback ever at Auburn based on high school recruiting ranking, Jackson Arnold brings impressive credentials to the Plains.
Arnold, who signed with Auburn on Saturday after two seasons at Oklahoma, was 247Sports’ No. 8 player overall nationally in the Class of 2023. Auburn’s other five-star quarterbacks include Cam Newton, Jason Campbell and 2025 signee Deuce Knight.
Based off 247Sports’ composite rankings, Arnold would be the third-highest rated high school prospect ever signed by Auburn behind only Byron Cowart (No. 3) and current Auburn freshman Cam Coleman (No. 3). Derrick Brown was the No. 9 overall prospect in the 2016 class.
The 2022 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas, Arnold was ESPN’s No. 3 overall prospect in 2023 and the 2022 Elite 11 Finals MVP.
“Any time you have those accolades you have great skillsets,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said.
In two seasons as a high school starter, Arnold passed for more than 7.000 yards with 67 touchdowns.
“The fit he is for our offense and for Auburn, I couldn’t be more excited,” Freeze said. “He’s a dual-threat guy who understands the RPO system extremely well and throws the deep ball extremely well.”
Freeze’s vetting process reinforced his conviction.
“Everything about him that I’ve gotten to know over this recruiting process and through the conversations with many other people I deeply respect, it really excites me,” he said.
Besides Arnold’s arm talent, Freeze sees intangibles.
“A winner,” he said. “He’s going to create a swagger around our offense that draws people to want to play at a higher level.”
In nine starts at Oklahoma this season, Arnold threw 12 touchdown passes with only three interceptions while amassing 1,421 passing yards (157.9 yards per game) despite the Sooners’ receiving corps being decimated by injuries.
“His deep ball has been very accurate,” Freeze said. “Didn’t throw a ton this year because they dealt with injuries at his previous school, so he didn’t have a lot of shots but going back and watching all his Elite 11 and high school competition, he throws the deep ball as well as you see at most any level.”
Freeze envisions a bright future at Auburn for Arnold, whose 2024 statistics are comparable to Bo Nix’s at Auburn in 2021 in completion percentage (62.6 for Arnold vs. 61% for Nix), touchdowns (12 vs. 11) and QB rating (124.8 vs. 130). The following season at Oregon, Nix threw for 3,593 yards and 29 touchdowns while rushing for 510 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“The face of the program on offense, along with people like Cam Coleman and the other guys we’re recruiting to this level,” Freeze said. “He’s the type of toughness that I think the Auburn people are going to really rally behind.”
Arnold also rushed for 444 yards with three touchdowns in 2024, including a career-high 131 yards while completing 9 of 11 passes in Oklahoma’s 24-3 win over No. 7 Alabama on Nov. 23.
“When you’ve got to get the dirty yards,” Freeze said. “I think of his most recent game against Alabama where he put that team on his shoulders and found a way to win it with his legs. That air of toughness that he brings to Auburn is going to draw so many people to love him.
“Extending plays in this league is invaluable and he’s shown the ability to extend plays and make throws on the run. That’s something that’s going to add great value to our offense.”
Arnold’s passing ability aligns with Freeze’s run-pass option offense.
“He’s as natural operating the RPO game as any kid mechanically that I’ve seen,” Freeze said. “I’ve seen enough on tape that he has a clear understanding of it. The thing that excites me the most is his mechanics are as good as they get. We’re not going to have to change a thing with that.”
Arnold’s addition further strengthens Auburn’s roster heading into Freeze’s third season.
“The expectation for the ’25 season is for us to compete for a playoff spot,” Freeze said. “We’ve had two full recruiting classes now. I think I told you I thought it would take three. I’m hopeful we can do it with the two.”
Arnold and Knight mark the first time in Auburn history that the Tigers will have two five-stars in the same QB room.
“Our young kids are going to have to play very well and obviously we’ve got to play well at quarterback, which excites us about Jackson joining Deuce and Walker (White) in that room,” Freeze said. “Let’s go have a swagger about us in Jordan-Hare.”
