"He had all of it": Mississippi State HC Jeff Lebby gives Jackson Arnold his flowers at SEC Media Days before Auburn debut

23 hours ago 1

close

Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby commended Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold’s abilities as he prepares for his debut with the Tigers. Lebby gave the commendation on Wednesday at the SEC Media Days, with Arnold also in attendance.

The two have history at Oklahoma, as Lebby was the offensive coordinator and Arnold came in as a five-star quarterback recruit. After one season together, Lebby moved on to Mississippi State, while Arnold remained with the Sooners.

He entered the transfer portal in December after a rocky sophomore season where he was benched in favor of freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. However, Lebby is convinced he remains the gifted quarterback he was out of high school.

march madness logo

“He had all of it, and he still does," Lebby said. "He’s the same young man. He’s my No. 1 guy coming out of the class, Gatorade Player of the Year, all that. I’m excited for him to get to be starting. Physically, a young man that had every single tool you wanted to be an elite player.”

Lebby is also in need of a turnaround after a winless first season in the Southeastern Conference. The former Oklahoma offensive coordinator finished 2024 with a 2-10 (0-8 SEC) record.

Jackson Arnold's reflections at the SEC Media Days

Jackson Arnold believes he is in a suitable spot to succeed at Auburn. Speaking at the SEC Media Days, Arnold reflected on the disappointment of his sophomore season.

“It’s a lot different," Arnold said on Wednesday. "I’m grateful for where I’m at. I know God has a plan for me. If that was to struggle last year and go through everything I went through and persevere, that’s part of it. I’m grateful for where I’m at, and I think I’m in a great spot to thrive.”

He also highlighted the lessons he learned from his Oklahoma experience.

“It helps a lot, having experience like that, and being in close games like that, and being in tough games, and against really good opponents," Arnold said. "It only made me stronger, and honestly, it’ll slow the game down for me a lot, just knowing that I’ve been in those environments before, I’ve been in those big games, and whether we’ve won or lost the big games, I’ve been in that, and I’ve had that experience that’ll only help me in the future.”

Arnold passed for 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns in nine starts for Oklahoma in 2024.

Why did you not like this content?

  • Clickbait / Misleading
  • Factually Incorrect
  • Hateful or Abusive
  • Baseless Opinion
  • Too Many Ads
  • Other

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

About the author

Kayode Akinwumi

Kayode is a College and High School Sports writer at Sportskeeda since June 2023. Hailing from Nigeria, he has an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and African Languages, and has previously had stints as an entertainment and politics writer for around 7 months. Adept at creating content around historical perspectives, he strives to report stories based only on verified information. His mantra is - truth is always more important than sensationalism.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Kayode admires how Nick Saban developed talent at the team and delivered consistent results, and hopes that the post-Saban era is just as fruitful. He is thoroughly impressed by Johnny Manziel’s talent, and feels that Shedeur Sanders is massively underrated. Nick Saban is his all-time favorite college coach.

While Kayode believes there is little to separate college and mainstream sports, pro leagues absorbing the best athletes leads to their quality being higher. Witnessing the Colorado Buffaloes’ hot streak at start the 2023 football season was one of his all-time favorite college sports moments.

When not writing, Kayode enjoys reading and watching sports documentaries. His most recent watch was "Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In."

Know More

Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez

Read Entire Article