The current, ever-changing world of college football means seeing players represent multiple teams within one conference during their careers isn’t abnormal.

Auburn’s new starting quarterback, Jackson Arnold, is in that boat, spending his first two seasons at Oklahoma. He was the Sooners’ starter in 2024, but had a frustrating season that eventually ended with him in the transfer portal.

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables revealed at SEC Media Days on Wednesday that he wanted and tried to keep Arnold in Norman before he eventually left.

“I think he just needed a fresh start,” Venables said. “I don’t want to speak for him, but he was wonderful. Never once was I disappointed in him. He handled one of the toughest moments of his athletic life in an amazing, first-class way.”

During the 2024 season at Oklahoma, Arnold was briefly benched, a decision that was ultimately Venables’. Arnold came back and still played in 10 games last season, but the offense never seemed to get going.

The Sooners dealt with a slew of injuries in the wide receiver corps, poor offensive line play and an offensive coordinator that was fired midseason. All of those factors worked against Arnold, who threw for fewer than 1,500 yards last year.

“Everything around him wasn’t helping him be successful,” Venables said. “So, he had no chance in some ways, under the circumstances.”

Despite Arnold’s departure from Oklahoma, Venables was still optimistic about the quarterback’s future, saying he’s “going to play this game a long time at a really high level.”

Arnold will make a return to Norman this season when Auburn plays at Oklahoma on Sept. 20. It’s an increasingly common occurrence in college football for players to play against their formal teams, and Venables was asked about the advantages and disadvantages of that.

“He’ll be a different player,” Venables said. “Circumstances, there’d be nothing the same. Only good thing for us is it’s in Norman.”

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m