Watching Arnold perform against Allen now. He's playing like a man among boys in picking apart and running against a good Allen team.
I believe that the recruitment of him is OU's greatest recruiting story considering the turmoil after last year with Riley's poaching OU's roster and commitment list, and the transfers and NFL exits.
There was not the upheaval of OU's program when Mildren, Sims, Peterson or any other great talent was recruited.... not even with the Kerry Jackson scandal in 1972 that put OU on a three-year probation.
Clearly, Arnold won't redshirt. Not with his level of talent.
If Gabriel returns, I see it as a pleasant problem for OU even if Gabriel improves to a higher level of performance.
But Arnold represents the future of OU football as OU readies itself for SEC play and getting away from fielding weak defenses.
So much now is riding on Venables and his staff to acclimate themselves better with the current roster and have to it get better the remainder of 2022. There's still much to play for, bowl or no bowl.