SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS

July 15, 2025

Jackson Arnold

Auburn Tigers

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Jackson Arnold.

Q. When you went into the transfer portal, you had a lot of options. What was it about Auburn that made that the right decision?

JACKSON ARNOLD: I think early on the coaches were immediately texting me as soon as I entered the portal or that day, opened up for the transfer portal. They were the first ones that texted me, communicated to me.

Almost all the offensive coaches texted me early on. Not only that, a day later I hopped on a zoom call with them all. They kind of laid out everything out for me, showed me my fit in their offense, our offensive depth, depth in the team in general, not just offense.

They really prided on their defense and a bunch of guys last year, and all those guys are coming back this year.

I think with the depth that we have and the coaches we have, the scheme, the offensive scheme that fits me so well, I thought it was a perfect fit for me.

Q. Coach Freeze was up here earlier and said how he had everybody on the team take a personality test so they could best be coached. I'm interested into what went into that, how you like to be coached. And do you think that's a beneficial thing for the guys on the team?

JACKSON ARNOLD: He did have us take a personality test. I took mine on my official visit one random morning. I don't know if he used that as, like, a weeding out tool for the transfer portal, but obviously there's something about it he liked.

I do like it for coaching. He wants to see what personalities fit him and his coaching style. And if that fit's not good, then don't grab that guy out of the portal. I completely understand him doing it.

Q. What did you learn from your experience at Oklahoma that you're bringing to Auburn? And what can you tell us about the receiving corps?

JACKSON ARNOLD: Last year was tough, obviously not ideal whatsoever. I think perseverance was a big thing I learned last year, kind of fighting through the tough times.

We did play in some big games last year. Now I fully understand what it's like playing a long SEC schedule against some good teams, playing in those tough games where it's extremely close and you have to kind of grind it out.

But I think last year taught me a lot, being able to persevere and really sticking to those tough games.

And coming to our receiving corps this year, obviously it's a bunch of studs out there. I'm not going to name them because we have too many. But I'm super excited by this group, and I think they're going to produce a lot on the field this year.

Q. You say that this scheme was a good fit for you. This is now your fourth offensive scheme you've had to deal with. What about this scheme is something that you feel like is a good fit. What's been the most difficult adjustment in the transition to Auburn?

JACKSON ARNOLD: The biggest thing Coach Freeze sold me on with the scheme is, one, the RPO game, and, two, the deep shots. That's something that I've been doing a lot since high school. And even my first couple of years in college was huge in the RPOs, huge in the deep shots.

Coach Freeze isn't scared to push the ball down the field, which I absolutely love. I thought with my experience running the RPO game, I think it meshed well with what Coach Freeze was wanting to do with his offense.

Q. You were in the same sort of seat last year at Oklahoma. What do you think it is about your personality and what did you accomplish there to be able to become a leader so quickly? And what have you now done do you think at Auburn that made you a selection here? And Freeze also mentioned you were one of the top vote-getters becoming a member of the leadership council at Auburn.

JACKSON ARNOLD: Honestly, I think it's really experience. This is about to be my third year of college. I've played a full year, played a full year of SEC ball. Had it under my belt. I think the guys on the team respect that.

But not only that, I feel like I came in and really wanted to establish myself early on and made sure in the spring everyone knew that I was going to take control of this team and lead them. I thought I did a pretty good job of that in the spring.

We initially had a leadership council when I got in the spring and I wasn't on it. I made sure that was one of my goals was to be on the leadership council.

Q. When Oklahoma became a part of the SEC, did you have a kind of "welcome to the SEC" moment where you thought, man, this league is different, like everyone says? And from that moment to now, what aspects of your game have improved the most?

JACKSON ARNOLD: I remember walking out against South Carolina. I'm, like, their D line was unbelievable last year. And I'm, like, gosh, dude, these dudes, their D line was absolutely huge. You've got frickin 6'6", looks like twins on the outside edges.

They had a really good team, really good defense, that was probably the biggest "welcome to the SEC" moment.

Q. Where is your confidence at right now compared to when you finished up at Oklahoma?

JACKSON ARNOLD: My confidence is extremely high right now. I credit that to my whole teammates. I think having their respect and their trust and going out and doing what we did in the spring, I feel like the offense had a really efficient spring, which instilled a lot of confidence in me.

At the same time, knowing the guys have faith and trust in me to elect me for the leadership council, it gives me a lot of hope and confidence that these dudes really believe in me and really want me to lead them this year.

Q. Coming from Oklahoma to Auburn, which team and fan base is there more animosity towards, Texas or Alabama?

JACKSON ARNOLD: That's a great question. Honestly, OU-Texas, there's a lot of hate. But I feel like the people here just cannot stand Alabama. It's unbelievable.

OU-Texas, it's very similar. Honestly, it's not far off. I feel those two rivalries are probably the two best rivalries in college football. But I feel like if you mention Alabama here, somebody would look at you funny.

We even have a rule in our facility, you can't wear red in our facility at all. If you do, you lose points and you have to do up/downs.

Q. From a year ago to now, how do you feel from a mental standpoint? And how good is it to be at Auburn and have a fresh start here at Auburn, do something good here at Auburn?

JACKSON ARNOLD: It's great. I think this offseason was great for me mentally, just being in a new place, getting a fresh start, being around new people, new coaches, new players, new scenery, too, honestly.

I think Auburn's beautiful. It's great scenery. I think for me mentally I need to be in a new spot, to be around some other people in order to thrive. And I feel like God put me in a great position that I'm in right now. I'm super excited for the season.

Q. Jordan-Hare is known by many to be one of the best environments in college football. How excited are you to be starting to play this fall?

JACKSON ARNOLD: Extremely excited. We did play there last year as an opponent. It was unbelievably loud in that stadium. The only thing I'm sad about I won't be able to see the eagle fly pregame, but super excited about playing there.

Q. You opened with Baylor this season. Can you feel a difference, or do you think you might be able to feel a difference preseason, through the summer, into fall camp about the focus and intensity when you know you'll have to be sharp to beat a team like that week one?

JACKSON ARNOLD: I don't think just because it's Baylor week one that we would prepare any different. But obviously Baylor is a very good team. It's going to be a greatest for us.

And I think things are starting to ramp up now. We're starting to get into game planning and starting to get into film study and stuff like that. It's definitely starting to ramp up.

But we'll prepare the same every week like it's the hardest game on our schedule. You just try to go 1-0 each week. I'm excited about playing in Texas on a Friday night just like high school.