Oklahoma quarterback commit Jackson Arnold capped his illustrious high school football career with one of the most prestigious distinctions in this level of the sport.
Arnold was named the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year on Thursday. He led Guyer High School (Denton, Texas) to a 14-1 record by passing for 3,476 yards and 33 touchdowns to go with 921 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns, good for 4,397 total yards and 57 total touchdowns.
Former Dallas Cowboys star Jason Witten presented the local five-star player with the award on Thursday.
Arnold dominated on the football field and exceeded Gatorade’s standards for classroom and community impact in its award requirements. According to the organization, Arnold has a 4.5 weighted GPA and spent three and a half years as a member of the Texas Young Men’s Service League, where mothers and sons do community service together.
Arnold is an early enrollee at Oklahoma.
Ranked the No. 4 quarterback and No. 7 player in the class of 2023 on the 247Sports Composite, Arnold took Texas high school football by storm as a junior after being named the starting quarterback. He threw for about 3,900 yards, led Guyer to a championship appearance in 2021, and continued his upward trajectory over the past summer by being named the 2022 Elite 11 Finals MVP. Arnold was boosted to a five-star prospect around that time.
Over his two seasons as a starter, Arnold passed for more than 7,000 yards and 67 touchdowns while only throwing eight interceptions, according to his Oklahoma bio. He rushed for 1,580 yards and 36 touchdowns.
Arnold was named the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year over finalists Malachi Nelson and Arch Manning. Nelson, a USC commit, is ranked as the No. 3 player on the 247Sports Composite, while Texas commit Manning is listed as the No. 1 player in the class.
Watch the surprise announcement below:
