OU football spring game takeaways: Jackson Arnold shows 'poise' in Sooners debut

NORMAN — At least there was some late-game excitement in Saturday’s OU football spring game.

With the game “tied,” following a late Red team touchdown, freshman quarterback Jackson Arnold dropped back and fired a pass to Jayden Gibson in the back of the end zone.

The crowd remaining at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium rose in anticipation, then let out an audible gasp as Gibson dropped the ball, giving the white team the victory.

Here are four takeaways from the Sooners’ spring game:

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Jackson Arnold unveiled

It didn’t take long for Arnold to make an impression.

On his second play, Arnold scrambled up the middle and ran 53 yards for an apparent touchdown, drawing a roar from the OU crowd.

But the excitement was short-lived.

Arnold, like all Sooners’ quarterbacks in Saturday’s game, wore a blue no-contact jersey, and officials ruled that linebacker Danny Stutsman had made the “tackle” on Arnold near the line of scrimmage.

"I was definitely close enough to get touched," Arnold said. "I wish I could've gone for a touchdown, but it was good."

That was the biggest moment of excitement involving Arnold until the final moments, when he hit Gavin Freeman for a 30-yard touchdown on the final timed play of the first quarter.

"It was really helpful for me," Arnold said of the last series. "Just playing with the (No.) 1 O-line and the receivers and stuff, playing with guys that have been there before helped me out tremendously, gave me time in the pocket that I could just step back and throw it."

Arnold finished 6 of 14 for 64 yards and was sacked three times.

“The kid looks like he’s got poise,” Kyler Murray said afterward. “Obviously he’s a freshman so he’s got to learn things at this level …. but he’ll figure it out.”

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Convoluted scoring system

By the time the second quarter rolled around, it was clear the scoring system had a bit of a “Whose Line Is It Anyway” flair — everything was made up and the points don’t matter.

By the time the red team punted a couple plays into the second, the poor soul tasked with keeping track of the score had given up, as no points were placed on the board.

It wasn’t exactly a surprise.

The scoring system awarded point to BOTH teams for punts, the defense awarded twice as many points for a touchdown than the offense, and points were awarded for plays of 15 or more yards, turnovers, sacks and several other categories.

"I think Coach V was giving them (the offense) a little leeway, a little buffer with points, but it was fun," defensive lineman Rondell Bothroyd said. "It was fun at the end with one play to decide the game."

For the record, the final score was White (Defense) 84, Red (Offense) 82.

Going into the fourth quarter, the target score was set at 84.

If one team reached the mark before the end of the quarter, the game would be over. Instead, the final points came with no time on the clock.

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Strong crowd for OU spring game

It wasn’t quite the 75,000-plus that showed out last season for the spring game, but there was still a strong crowd on a cool day.

Attendance was announced at 54,409.

Before the game, Sooners coach Brent Venables invited all the former players in attendance to stand arm-in-arm across the middle of the field.

The players stretched from one 17-yard line to the other.

At halftime, former OU Heisman Trophy winners Steve Owens, Billy Sims, Jason White and Baker Mayfield were on the field as part of the ceremony to honor Kyler Murray, whose Heisman Park statue was unveiled before the game.

Former Sooners coach Bob Stoops was on the field for the ceremony as well.

The crowd thinned significantly during the 25-minute halftime, especially following the Murray ceremony.

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Dasan McCullough, Reggie Pearson among standouts

A pair of defensive transfers made big impressions early.

Indiana linebacker transfer Dasan McCullough had three tackles and broke up two passes in the first quarter.

Texas Tech safety transfer Reggie Pearson was credited with seven tackles, including one for loss, and broke up a pass as well, showing off the physicality that earned him a reputation as a big hitter with the Red Raiders.

Those weren’t the only defensive standouts Saturday.

Highly touted freshman Peyton Bowen intercepted starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel early on.

Bowen's interception drew big praise from offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

"Peyton made an unbelievable play down the sideline," Lebby said. "That's as good of a play as I've seen. The guy immediately gets his eyes back on the ball and becomes the receiver, makes an unbelievable play. We want to throw that ball a little more aggressive and let our guy go get it."

Linebacker Kip Lewis, who had little playing time last year, racked up a handful of tackles early and finished with 11.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football spring game: Jackson Arnold shows 'poise' in Sooners debut