He looks backmost present and ne'er expected the journey to spell this way. But he’s grateful for the opportunities. Happy wherever things stand. Knows what to expect.
Jackson Arnold is simply a UNLV backmost competing for a starting job, the erstwhile Oklahoma and Auburn subordinate who transferred to the Rebels and present looks to regenerate the departed Anthony Colandrea.
Looks to travel the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year.
Arnold has been competing with returner Alex Orji successful grooming campy to tally a UNLV discourtesy that averaged 34 points and astir 450 yards past season. Competing to nonstop an onslaught that seems susceptible of again putting up specified numbers.
“Just getting astir the guys and taking connected a seasoned role,” Arnold said. “I’ve been to a mates antithetic schools present and it’s my 4th twelvemonth playing assemblage ball. Just taking that measurement into being the feline to get others to go. Being a dependable successful the room.”
His resume is overly impressive, opening with a precocious schoolhouse vocation astatine Denton (Texas) Guyer successful which Arnold was a 5-star enlistee and Top 25 subordinate nationally.
Chosen arsenic a prep All-American and Gatorade National Player of the Year, helium combined to propulsion for 67 touchdowns and tally for 36 much combining his inferior and elder seasons.
He was the antheral and past immoderate crossed the football-crazed authorities of Texas.
Supreme leadership
“I don’t deliberation anybody would person said this would beryllium Jackson’s (college) path,” said Reed Heim, manager astatine Denton Guyer. “But he’s built for adversity and overcoming and is simply a phenomenal idiosyncratic and shot player. If idiosyncratic said to me, ‘What are the potion parts that marque a large quarterback? What bash you request to beryllium successful?’ I’m picking that feline each time. Every time.
“From his enactment to his toughness to his playmaking quality to his personality. He’s awesome. I conscionable anticipation the satellite sees the subordinate I saw and coached, due to the fact that that feline is beauteous damn special.”
Arnold would take Oklahoma retired of precocious schoolhouse and play 2 seasons with the Sooners, starting 10 of the 17 games successful which helium played, throwing for astir 2,000 yards and 16 scores during his clip successful Norman.
But past it was a transportation to Auburn, wherever Arnold would commencement 8 games past play and propulsion for 1,300 yards and six touchdowns. He had attempted 324 passes without an interception earlier playing Missouri dating backmost to his sophomore play astatine Oklahoma, marking the 3rd longest streak successful SEC history.
He’s besides present connected his 5th violative coordinator, manager and roster changes portion of the crushed helium changed schools.
“I haven’t played successful the Mountain West oregon against the docket we person now, but it was a gauntlet successful the SEC the past fewer years,” Arnold said. “Every crippled you’re playing against an (NFL) first-rounder, particularly with however the NIL is present and radical bouncing astir for wealth oregon for immoderate reason.”
He has had a narration with UNLV violative coordinator Corey Dennis dating to Arnold’s precocious schoolhouse days, erstwhile Dennis was astatine Ohio State and recruiting him to the Buckeyes.
So erstwhile it was known that Arnold was reasoning of jumping backmost into the transportation portal and departing Auburn, it made consciousness that UNLV with Dennis and quarterback-friendly manager Dan Mullen would beryllium successful play.
“(Arnold) has played a ton of ball,” Dennis said. “He’s doing a large occupation learning what we do. He’s a feline who has been astir the crippled a bunch. He’s a precise talented kid.
“He’s not a freshman. He’s not a feline coming successful and trying to larn the assemblage game. He was an SEC starter. He’s had a batch of antithetic coordinators. We mightiness tally akin concepts, but we mightiness work things differently. It’s truly astir him seeing however we bash things. It’s astir being yourself and, ultimately, we arsenic coaches person to heighten these guys and play to their strengths much than anything.”
Fact: Colandrea, who transferred to Nebraska pursuing past season, volition beryllium a pugnacious enactment to follow. UNLV went 10-4 with him and played successful a 3rd consecutive league title game.
But that’s not to accidental Mullen wants immoderate of his quarterbacks moving from the unit of replacing specified a productive player.
The manager invites them to clasp the conception daily.
“Practice is wherever you spot what you tin do,” Mullen said, “Practice is wherever you enactment unit connected yourself to spot what you tin get distant with and spot wherever you’re bully oregon bad. I privation to spot you enactment it connected the enactment successful practice.
“I’d alternatively say, ‘Whoa’ than ‘Sick-em.’ I privation them to propulsion themselves and say, ‘This is wherever your champion country is. We’re going to absorption connected that.’”
Resume not finished
Orji knew Arnold good erstwhile some were moving astir the shot fields of Texas, the erstwhile having prepped astatine Sachse High. Orji would be Michigan from 2022-24 earlier transferring to UNLV past play and suffering a season-ending injury against UCLA successful Week 3.
“(Arnold) was 1 of the guys I looked up to coming retired of precocious school,” Orji said. “Him being the guy. Seeing his full vocation unfold, it’s present large being successful the aforesaid country with him. Whether it’s america having grown up 40 miles isolated oregon playing the aforesaid teams successful precocious school, it’s large to person idiosyncratic I tin subordinate to and who tin truly sling it.”
The way isn’t what Jackson Arnold thought it mightiness be, but helium is present now, competing, blessed wherever things stand, knowing what to expect.
His resume isn’t complete.
Contact Ed Graney astatine egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney connected X.
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