Brent Venables Shares Message to Jackson Arnold After His Benching

Things went wrong for the starting quarterback Jackson Arnold In Oklahoma‘s inclination with Tennessee Saturday night, with the starter on the bench for a freshman Michael Hawkins.

Coach Brent Venables I was just fed up with Arnold’s mental errors and surprising blunders, which cost the team dearly in a close game.

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But despite being benched and Oklahoma sticking with Hawkins for now, Venables wants his former starter to know he still has plenty of support.

“We needed some things to go right in the second half and it didn’t work out. And you learn from it,” Venables said. “Like I told Jackson, ‘Man, it’s a bad moment, it’s a bad night. It’s not a bad career. So stay out of the gutter and focus on getting better.’ And that’s the case for all of us.”

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In four games this season, Jackson Arnold has completed 61 of 102 passes for 538 yards, with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

He missed some key plays in crucial moments, however, and the turnovers became hard to swallow. Arnold threw an interception in three straight games, leading to his benching.

Yet Venables wants him to keep his head up.

“Like I said to Jackson, this is a big moment,” Venables said. “Jackson is going to have an incredible future and career, he’s going to play this game for a long time. It’ll all work itself out in due time, and it might even be the turning point on Saturday night. You know, we know how football goes sometimes.”

Hawkins is indeed only a freshman, so there is certainly a scenario in which he also struggles and the Sooners opt to turn to Jackson Arnold. Arnold needs to be prepared for that eventuality.

This means resisting the urge to sulk, the urge to give less than 100% of your time to prepare.

“He’s got to stay ready and he understands his gaps in his responsibilities,” Venables said. “But everything he records, to me, starts with us as a coaching staff. You either coach him or you allow him.”

“But he understood. He had a great mindset. No surprises. He’s a tough guy. He takes responsibility. He doesn’t make excuses. We know we’ve seen a lot of scenarios play out differently, but you have to keep your head down and get better. That’s it. That’s what you can control. That’s what he does.”