Jackson Arnold holds Hugh Freeze and Auburn's fate in his hands, claims Josh Pate

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze brought QB Jackson Arnold to the team this offseason via the transfer portal. After two seasons at Oklahoma, Arnold elected to transfer and will be joining Freeze's squad. His performance this offseason could determine whether the Tigers contend in the SEC.

On Saturday, analyst Josh Pate released a video on his YouTube channel. He was asked by a fan to pick a team outside of his Top 20 as a sleeper playoff team. Pate brought up the Tigers as an option, specifically if Jackson Arnold pans out (Timestamp 0:25).

"Auburn is certainly there. I don't have Auburn in the Top 20 but the roster talent is there," Pate said. "They've got an average of a Top 15 recruiting class the last three cycles, really the last four cycles. They've averaged Top 15 class. Also they've got a Top 10 portal class there. They're probably a plus team on the lines of scrimmage. Keldric Faulk, the edge player there, has got game wrecker ability."

"On the other side we're asking big questions about Jackson Arnold. They're a sleeper because if he doesn't pan out it won't be a great team this year. If he does pan out, that becomes the most underrated receiver room in the country because no one's talking about them because you don't think Auburn can throw the ball."

Pate continued to talk about the importance of Arnold to Auburn's success.

"Not a lot's expected of Auburn, but if they hit it with Jackson Arnold, they're capable of beating anyone on their schedule," Pate said. "So, that's a wild card sleeper type of team."

Jackson Arnold is expected to start for Auburn this year after two seasons in Oklahoma

Jackson Arnold had an up-and-down season with the Oklahoma Sooners. He started the first four games of the season before getting benched. He eventually got the starting job back and started nine games of the season. However, he did not start the Armed Forces Bowl as the team instead chose to start Michael Hawkins Jr.

As a result, Arnold elected to enter the transfer portal and join Auburn. While he struggled at times last season, he showed flashes of good play. Josh Pate believes that if Arnold can live up to the expectations he had going into last season, the Tigers can be successful. This past season, he completed 154 of 246 passing attempts for 1421 yards and 12 TDs.