AUBURN — During Auburn football‘s team Bible study Tuesday, the verse of the night was James 1:12.
“Blessed is the person who perseveres under trial,” it reads, “because when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
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That verse hit Jackson Arnold hard, he said Wednesday, “because last year, that’s exactly what happened.”
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Arnold transferred to Auburn from Oklahoma, where his 2024 season saw a benching, an offensive coordinator change, and eventual return to his season-opening role as the Sooners‘ starting quarterback. Arnold described it as “probably one of the hardest things I’ve gone through in my entire life.” But now at Auburn, he feels like he’s receiving the crown of life that the Lord promised.
After starting the year as Oklahoma’s starter, the Sooners were 3-0 heading into a matchup with Tennessee. They lost 25-15, and after throwing for 54 yards and an interception in the first half, Oklahoma made a switch at quarterback.
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Arnold returned to the field nearly a month later, in Oklahoma’s 35-9 loss to South Carolina. He threw for 225 yards and a touchdown, and he returned to the starting role.
“For me, that was a wake-up call from God, just to kind of take a step back and root my identity in something other than the game,” Arnold said of the benching. “Really, just to go through that and just learn how to persevere through hard times. … Just really being strong, being able to persevere is something I feel like I learned a lot last year.”
In Oklahoma’s final five games, Arnold threw for another 658 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per attempt, while completing 69.4% of his passes and throwing another four touchdowns. He also ran for another 335 yards and a touchdown in that span.
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: What QB Jackson Arnold learned in difficult season at OU
