18. Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma Sooners
Well, here we are. The Oklahoma Sooners are ready to embark on a new era. After decades of dominance in the Big 12, they followed the money to the SEC. This makes the SEC the conference to compete for a national title, as Oklahoma and Texas truly make this a super conference. Now, as this new era begins, Jackson Arnold hopes he can live up to the hype.
The 19-year-old has every tool one would want to excel in the SEC. We often overuse the term “cannon” when referring to the arm strength of quarterbacks, but we’re fairly confident Arnold could toss Grover across a football field if asked. His ball speed on both deep passes and short routes is impressive. That will give him an advantage against pretty stacked secondaries.
Oklahoma has produced superstar quarterbacks for decades now. Since Jason White won the Heisman Trophy in 2003, the track record is impeccable. White, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Sam Bradford have all won the Heisman this century while playing in Norman. Oklahoma is one Heisman Trophy behind USC for most all-time. Can Arnold help them secure number eight? That’s getting a little ahead of ourselves, but it’s something to consider.
There’s really only one concern here. Oklahoma has a brand new offensive line combination. That can work sometimes, but more often than not, it leads to mistakes. Those mistakes will send Arnold to the ground, and it will impact his decision-making. His rocket arm means he doesn’t need too much time to get the ball in its place, but we also don’t want rash decisions from a young QB. Still, the talent is very likely to overcome.