Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold Spring Game Interview
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00:00Ready?
00:01Yep.
00:02Well, how'd it feel?
00:03I'm sure you wanted to connect on that first go ball that Seth called up, huh?
00:08Yeah, I did.
00:09Coach Trill called it a great game.
00:11That was one of the plays that he dialed up, and of course I went back.
00:14But it was a good miss, so I'll take it.
00:16Talked to him after the game, and he said, yeah, we're going to go after it.
00:19Does that sound like what you've felt and what you expect?
00:24Absolutely.
00:25You know, it was like that all spring.
00:26He's got a very aggressive mindset.
00:27He wants to push the ball down the field, and I'm all for it.
00:29Jackson, you saw a lot of Deion Burks today.
00:32You've heard a lot about him.
00:33Just take us through that connection, how you guys have built that experience.
00:36Yeah, Deion's a special player.
00:39That's one of the fastest kids I've thrown to.
00:41He knows how to get open, great route running, and he showed that ability today.
00:44I'm super proud of him.
00:46You got a guy like that from the slot.
00:48How does that change the offense?
00:50Because most deep, deep threats are on the wide.
00:54Yeah, I mean, similar to how it was last year when we relied heavy on Drake,
00:58people will start bracketing that inner guy,
01:01and that's when defenses start changing
01:02and start opening up different things defensively for the offense to run.
01:06So having a guy like that is super important
01:07because it not only changes what we do, but it changes what the defense does too.
01:11Jackson, what's it like having the voice in your headset out there
01:14talking to you before the snap?
01:15It's awesome.
01:16It was one thing that was introduced to me this offseason,
01:19before we even got to spring,
01:20and they told me that this thing was probably going to happen during the spring.
01:23And when we actually got out there, it was weird at first, but I got used to it.
01:27I kind of stopped looking at the signals.
01:29But it was good.
01:30It was awesome.
01:31And who's talking to you in there?
01:32It's Coach LaTrelle.
01:33Yeah, I think it's only Coach LaTrelle.
01:35He has like a radio, clicks it on.
01:37He got up to like 15 seconds on the play clock.
01:39How good did it feel out there today?
01:41It felt good.
01:42I felt a lot more comfortable than I did last year, obviously,
01:44and even last December too, just seeing the field a lot more clearly
01:48and making better decisions today.
01:50Any reason no tight end game today?
01:53I just think it was just the way the game was going.
01:55We had some deep shots.
01:58No real reason.
01:59Yeah, no real reason.
02:00Things just happen in the flow of the game, I guess.
02:02Yeah.
02:03What do you think about that group of tight ends as a group of weapons?
02:06They are a group of weapons.
02:07They showed that all spring too.
02:08Those guys balled all spring.
02:09You know, Bauer, Josh, Cade, all of them, they balled all spring.
02:12I'm super proud of those guys.
02:14What do you think about the way the offensive line played in front of you?
02:17They played really good today.
02:18They gave me a ton of time.
02:19And especially on that first touchdown to Deion, I was sitting back there for,
02:22I probably held the ball a little too long, but they did a great job today.
02:25They proed that.
02:26They proed it up really well, and we were able to run the ball really well too.
02:29Mike had some ups and downs today.
02:31What advice do you give him as a backup quarterback
02:33when he goes through a spring game like he did today?
02:35It's not my fault.
02:37Just to keep his head up.
02:39You know, this is the first of many games that he's going to play.
02:42I'm at this university.
02:44It's the same thing for me last year.
02:46I had those ups and downs.
02:47And for me, I just put my head down and grinded, didn't listen to anything
02:50anybody said, and just grinded, and that's my advice to him.
02:54How do you think you played overall?
02:56It looked like speed was better than ever, getting that third and eight,
03:00eight and a half, right?
03:01Yeah, I thought I played good.
03:03Obviously, there were some plays and some throws I went back,
03:05but overall I thought I was solid.
03:07The O-line played great.
03:09And just the offense as a whole played great, in my opinion.
03:12O-line played great.
03:13Receivers played great.
03:14Running backs played great.
03:16Jackson, where do you think you've grown and developed the most?
03:21I'd say my leadership is where I've developed the most.
03:24There's a lot of stuff I can say on the field,
03:26but I want to say off the field is kind of getting with these guys
03:29and creating a great connection with these guys
03:32and kind of building that leadership and stepping into that role.
03:35The connection you've built with Burks, has it come unusually fast?
03:41Or, you know, you're a good quarterback, he's a good receiver, you know,
03:44whatever.
03:45I mean, that's hard to say because I've never been like that
03:49with any other receiver before.
03:51You know, I've never been.
03:52This is my second spring only,
03:54and I've never had time to get with a guy like that before.
03:57But Deion's a great player, and to me this connection came pretty fast.
04:02First couple weeks of spring we were throwing touchdowns too,
04:05and he was playing his butt off.
04:07Do you see him just stepping right in and being a guy you'll go to
04:11just like a couple guys that were not available today?
04:15Like he's going to be right there with them.
04:17Yeah, for sure.
04:18He showed his ability to play today.
04:20That says a lot about Deion, his character, and his work ethic.
04:24You've got a wide variety of different receivers,
04:26smalls, quick, big guys, small guys.
04:30That kind of a quarterback's dream.
04:31It's a blessing, sure.
04:33When you work with different types of receivers,
04:36are you knowing what they like already?
04:38Have you had enough time to kind of work that out?
04:40Yeah, that was a big thing we emphasized this spring
04:44was me getting on the same wavelength with those guys,
04:46knowing with Deion, I'd meet with Deion a couple times a week
04:49and go over certain routes.
04:51Even one of the routes he caught today is just stuff that I've met with him
04:54and talked to him about and got with him,
04:56and same thing with Gibb and all those outside guys too,
04:58where they want the ball and say fade balls or deep balls too,
05:01like what they're thinking when they're making their decisions too.
05:05How would you describe the quarterback room as a whole,
05:08what are you guys taking from each other and learning from each other?
05:11It's a very young group right now as a whole,
05:15but we're all bonding really well together,
05:18learning from each other's mistakes and each other's experience too,
05:22and it's been really good so far.
05:23I know you mentioned young.
05:24Casey Thompson is in the room, new here,
05:26but has played in plenty of college football games before.
05:29Have you learned anything from him?
05:31Yeah, Casey's through practice and through watching the film
05:35with our coaches days after practice.
05:38He's been helping me with little tidbits about certain plays that he's ran
05:41at his other previous schools
05:43and just kind of teaching me the way they ran it
05:45and just kind of opening my mind to different things.
05:47How comfortable are you now being the guy,
05:50having a whole off season to kind of get ready for that?
05:54Yeah, very comfortable, and it really helps with my confidence too,
06:00just knowing that I'm going in as a starter,
06:02especially for a game like today.
06:04Because last season, Dylan was the starter the whole year.
06:07I'd go in for the Alma ball, but it's not the same as now.
06:10Having this whole spring to get with those guys
06:12and step in and be their leader for them,
06:14it was really comfortable for me and helped me build a lot of confidence.
06:17How important are these next couple of weeks as you prepare for off season?
06:20As for summer work, how important is this time period for you and the team?
06:24Extremely important.
06:25Just reflecting on everything that happened in the spring,
06:27good, bad, and different, and just also resting too.
06:31I've got a couple weeks off and be with my family
06:33and just spend time with them.
06:37How do you feel like your connection with Burks already looks like it's there?
06:41I know you wish you had that one back.
06:43You can add so many big plays with him.
06:45He's got such a dynamic skill set.
06:47What's he going to mean to your offense?
06:49He's going to mean a lot.
06:50He showed up today.
06:54How do you think the new receivers, not just Deion,
06:56but all the new guys who have come in at receiver,
06:58are really going to make an impact this season,
07:00especially going into the SEC?
07:02For sure.
07:03Guys like Deion and Ivan and Zion made names for themselves this spring.
07:08Obviously, all three of them are learning the offense.
07:10It's new to them, but I think they did a great job handling that,
07:12and they showed that today.
07:15Jackson's got a good call.
07:16Anything else?