Oklahoma
How Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold Honed the Mental Side of His Game This Offseason
DALLAS — The Alamo Bowl is firmly in Jackson Arnold’s rearview.
Oklahoma’s new starting quarterback worked to improve all throughout the spring as he enters his first year truly at the helm of OU’s offense, and his eyes are locked on the future.
Arnold flashed plenty of the arm talent that excited coaches around the country during his recruitment in the second and third quarters against Arizona last December, but four turnovers soured his first start.
Curbing those miscues were the obvious takeaway from the contest, but he had another focus during spring practice to develop into the quarterback Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Seth Littrell hope he can be as a sophomore in 2024.
“After that Arizona game, there was a lot of maturing and a lot of growing up that I had to do,” Arnold said at SEC Media Days on Tuesday. “Stepping into that QB1 role, I had to be a real leader for us, for our team, and just stepping into that role, I know I need to mature as a person, as a player too.
“And the person that I am now and the player that I am now has improved drastically from where I was in that bowl game.”
At the start of bowl practice last year, Arnold admitted the leadership part of his new job was a bit awkward.
“All those guys had Dillon as their quarterback the whole year,” Arnold said. “It felt like I was taking (Gabriel’s) role from him.”
Those worries are no more.
“The biggest part of leadership that I focused on this offseason was being a vocal leader,” Arnold said. “Stepping up through conditioning or working out or whatever, just being vocal for those guys and picking them up. Even if we’re in huddles with each other, just leading those guys, telling them things and how we operate and just showing them the way things are done.”
Growing into a leadership role can take time.
Danny Stutsman is now so much more than simply OU’s best linebacker.
He was the heart and soul of the defense in 2023, and is a talismanic piece for the Sooners.
Stutsman had to learn the hard way just how challenging leading an entire side of the ball can be — something he sees Arnold digesting right now.
“It’s difficult for him,” Stutsman said. Only playing one game last year and having all these expectations thrown onto him. He’s done an amazing job of filling that role and doing whatever it takes.
“For myself, I look back to my sophomore year, kind of earning that starting spot. It kind of took a while. I thought the guys on the defense kind of were leaders. I realized quickly that someone needs to step into that more vocal role.
“… Sometimes guys don’t want to be there, and you see it right away. You have to be the person who wakes them up, gets them going. Sometimes that person is myself, and I have to kind of understand like if I come to practice or come to workout and I’m not 110 percent, I’m not the one who’s getting everyone clapping, getting everyone with that energy, then people are going to feed off of that both ways.”
As spring practice broke and made way to summer workouts, Arnold still had his own checklist of improvements on the field.
He tested his skills against the nation’s other top quarterbacks at the Manning Passing Academy, where he continued to try and hone how to marry his arm strength with a deeper understanding of exactly where the ball needs to go on every play.
“I feel like the biggest thing for me after spring ball was attacking the mental side of football,” Arnold said, “whether that’s looking at defenses or how Coach V looks at offenses, getting a defensive perspective of the game.
“But just really focusing on the mental part of football and just kind of learning different things that will help me ID coverages or help me make better reads for the season.”
The true test for Arnold will come in September when the Sooners open up SEC play against Tennesse and then close the month with a trip to Auburn.
His development will go a long way in determining Oklahoma’s fate in 2024.
But as the Sooners prepare to open training camp at the end of the month, it’s clear he’s taken the necessary strides off the field to lead OU on it this year.
“I think Jackson is starting to understand that and trying to do everything he can to be turned into that leader,” Stutsman said.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The OKC Thunder are hoping that they can repeat their Sunday afternoon performance in this contest. Game 2 will be an interesting test with the Suns having more time to prepare.
Phoenix was up against a rock and a hard place in the series opener. The Oklahoma City Thunder not only have the talent advantage but the rest advantage as well. Phoenix punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs on Friday night by staving off the Golden State Warriors on Friday night before landing in Oklahoma City on Saturday and playing on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a 119-84 blowout Thunder victory.
The NBA has seen plenty of upsets already. The Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers have all stolen games from the higher seed. The Thunder know they have to keep the foot on the gas in this contest.
“These series are unpredictable. No 2 games are the same. The minute you make an assumption, you are overconfident, or the minute you go down and you’re overly urgent, that can impact your ability to be present in the next game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seeing the Suns make an adjustment with their starting lineup by inserting Collin Gillespie to give Phoenix a trio of ball handling scoring options alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. This gives the Suns hope to be able to find better shot quality against this stifling Thunder defensive unit.
Oklahoma City is healthier now than they have been all season. The Thunder only are missing rookie Thomas Sorber (ACL) who is out for the year. This allows the Bricktown Ballers to roll out their traditional first five in this contest.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 2 Starting Lineup
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup
- Devin Booker, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Collin Gillespie, G
- Dillon Brooks, F
- Oso Ighodaro, C
The series will shift to Phoenix this weekend as the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to head into Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Playoff run for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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