Ashton Daniels – Syndication Server

Where does Jackson Arnold land among The Oklahoman’s SEC quarterback rankings?

Arnold will get a fresh start in Auburn this fall. How will he perform in his new uniform?

Auburn football revamped its quarterback room by landing two players with starting experience from the transfer portal.

Former Oklahoma starting quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and ex-Stanford signal caller [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag] join the roster ahead of next season and will compete alongside true freshman Deuce Knight for the right to be named QB1 of the Auburn Tigers.

According to Ryan Aber of The Oklahoman, Arnold is projected to be named starter for Hugh Freeze’s offense in 2025. However, Aber does not expect Arnold to kickstart Auburn’s offense to stellar improvement. In his ranking of potential SEC starting quarterbacks, he places Arnold at No. 12.

Aber cites Arnold’s struggles in 2024 as the reason for his low ranking. However, Auburn should provide a better supporting cast to help Arnold succeed.

The TIgers’ offense was boom or bust this season, struggling with turnovers for much of the year. Enter Arnold, who had a rough first season as a starter with 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns with just three interceptions though he struggled with ball-security issues. Arnold rushed for 444 yards and three touchdowns. Much of his struggles were tied into the lack of protection from OU’s offensive line and a lack of targets among wide receivers. Arnold still has the potential that made him one of the most coveted quarterbacks in the 2023 class.

Auburn returns four of its five starting offensive linemen from the 2024 season, and will have a strong replacement for [autotag]Izavion Miller[/autotag] at right tackle in Virginia Tech transfer [autotag]Xavier Chaplin[/autotag]. Auburn’s receivers will also provide more reliable targets for Arnold. Auburn landed the transfer portal’s No. 1 receiver in [autotag]Eric Singleton[/autotag] last month, who will mesh with [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Malcolm Simmons[/autotag], and [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] to form one of the best receiving units in the country.

Arnold is ahead of Alabama‘s Ty Simpson, Mississippi State’s Blake Shapen, Missouri’s Beau Pribula, and Kentucky‘s Zach Calzada in Aber’s rankings. LSU‘s Garrett Nussmeier takes the top spot as focus begins to shift to the 2025 season.

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Many eyes set upon Auburn’s ‘interesting’ QB situation as offseason approaches

The Athletic’s Antonio Morales says that Auburn’s QB room overhaul will be interesting to watch play out.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s decision to not pursue a transfer quarterback following the 2023 season quickly haunted him. This offseason, he is learning from his miscalculation by overhauling the Tigers’ entire quarterback room ahead of the 2025 season.

Auburn’s newest quarterback situation has earned a spot within The Athletic’s 10 most interesting quarterback situations list. Antonio Morales of The Athletic is interested in seeing how Freeze and the Tigers adjust to additions [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag], and if Auburn’s inconsistencies at the position continue.

Neither is a sure bet to hit, but Auburn does have solid talent at receiver, which should help whoever starts at quarterback. Both are run threats, which is beneficial for Freeze’s offense, too. Having those two also means that four-star signee and top-50 prospect Deuce Knight doesn’t have to play right away. The Tigers flipped Knight from Notre Dame and held off a late Ole Miss push. His development will be something to monitor.

Although Daniels is the more experienced quarterback of the two, Arnold appears to be the guy to beat heading into spring practice. Arnold, the former five-star recruit and Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, passed for 1,421 yards and 12 touchdowns for Oklahoma in 2024. He eclipsed the 200-yard mark in passing twice last season, and rushed for 131 yards in the Sooners’ win over Alabama in November.

Auburn also added former South Carolina quarterback [autotag]Tanner Bailey[/autotag] to its room following the transfer of [autotag]Walker Whit[/autotag]e to Baylor. Auburn’s three transfer additions are being used to buy time for the development of true freshman [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag], who is seen as “the future” of the offense.

The winning quarterback will be tasked with producing at a higher rate than last season’s starter, Payton Thorne, who passed for 2,713 yards and 21 scores in 2024. Thorne ended the year by completing 62.8% of his passes and reaching a career-best quarterback rating of 150.8.

Former Auburn quarterback transfers to Texas State

Geriner never saw much playing time in his three seasons as a Tiger.

Former Auburn highly-touted quarterback recruit [autotag]Holden Geriner [/autotag]officially committed to Texas State on Monday. Geriner, who spent three seasons as a Tiger, will now head to the Sun Belt with two years of eligibility remaining.

The Savannah, Georgia native was a four-star recruit in the 2022 cycle, but never spent much time under center during his Tiger tenure. After completing 2 of 3 passes for 8 yards in his redshirt freshman season, the junior threw just 17 more attempted passes in his next two seasons on the Plains, including a career-low 2 attempts in 2024. He did not register a touchdown, but did throw an interception.

Now headed to Texas State, Geriner follows the same path former Auburn quarterback [autotag]T.J. Finlay[/autotag] took a few seasons ago. Finlay, who started his career at LSU before transferring to Auburn, infamously took over the signal-caller role from [autotag]Bo Nix[/autotag] during Bryan Harsin’s tenure on the Plains before transferring to Texas State in 2023. He was extremely successful during his time with the Bobcats, indicating Geriner could end up prospering as well at a less talented program where he could earn more snaps.

With Geriner officially out of the picture, Auburn’s quarterback room is all but set with likely starter [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], freshman [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag], and Stanford transfer [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag].

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Former South Carolina QB joins Auburn’s roster

Auburn has officially rounded out its QB room for the 2025 season.

The original plan for [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and the Auburn coaching staff was to sign two transfer quarterbacks this offseason. Freeze achieved that goal by landing former Oklahoma quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and ex-Stanford quarterback [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag].

However, his plans were altered as freshman [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] announced his decision to leave the program, leaving one more spot to fill. The good news for Freeze is that he did not have to look far to land his third transfer quarterback.

Auburn football landed a commitment from former South Carolina quarterback [autotag]Tanner Bailey[/autotag] this week to officially round out the 2025 quarterback room. Bailey will join the roster as a walk-on.

Bailey’s story is unique. He signed with South Carolina as a three-star quarterback from the 2022 cycle out of Gordo High School (Alabama). He played in one game for the Gamecocks during the 2023 season, where his only stat was a -7-yard rush in South Carolina’s win over Furman. After the season, Bailey decided to hang up his cleats and pursue other opportunities as a student.

Bailey returned to his home state to enroll at Auburn University, his dream school. He tells USA TODAY Sports that Auburn coaches approached him about joining the team in December—a chance he couldn’t pass up.

“Everybody that knows me, I’m a lifelong, die-hard Auburn fan,” Bailey said in an interview with USA TODAY Sports. “For me, if you ask the 5-year-old Tanner: ‘What’s your lifelong dream?’, this is probably what it is. It’s awesome, I’m super excited.”

With Bailey joining the program, Auburn has now signed four quarterbacks to fill the room for the 2025 season. In addition to the transfer of Arnold and Daniels, five-star quarterback [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] will compete for the starting quarterback job beginning this spring.

Clemson transfer edge A.J. Hoffler expected to take trip to the Plains

The former Clemson Tiger accumulated 15 tackles in two seasons before entering the transfer portal.

Transfer portal defensive end [autotag]A.J. Hoffler[/autotag] is expected to visit Auburn on Sunday according to Auburn Live.

Hoffler spent two seasons in the ACC at Clemson, and was the No. 25 ranked edge rusher in his class coming out of high school. Now 20 years old, the Atlanta, Georgia native may be looking to move down I-85, and up a shade of orange, next season.

In two seasons with the Tigers, Hoffler collected 15 total tackles, defending one pass as well. While the 6-4 EDGE physically gifted edge rusher saw limited snaps with his original team, his seniority and tools may give him a chance to become an impact member of Auburn’s defensive front.

As it currently stands, Auburn’s starting edge rushers are likely breakout star [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag] and highly-touted freshman [autotag]Jared Smith[/autotag]. With Smith having not played a single snap of college football, Hoffler could have an early advantage for snaps if he were to join Hugh Freeze’s squad next season.

With Hoffler’s visit imminent, Auburn’s head coach and his staff will look to add the talented edge rusher to an already great transfer portal class that mostly includes offensive weapons such as quarterbacks [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag], wide receiver [autotag]Eric Singleton[/autotag], and offensive lineman [autotag]Xavier Chaplin[/autotag].

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Former Tiger Camden Brown commits to Georgia Southern

Brown finished his Tiger career with 26 receptions, 289 receiving yards, and three touchdowns

One of the longest-tenured Tigers on Auburn’s offesnse will be departing for another school next season. Junior wide receiver [autotag]Camden Brown[/autotag] announced he would be taking his talents to Georgia Southern on Wednesday.

A contributor on the Auburn offense since 2022, Brown finished his Tiger career with 26 receptions, 289 receiving yards, and a trio of scores. Unfortunately most of that production came in his first two seasons on the Plains, as Brown had just 7 receptions for 61 yards in 2024 playing behind Auburn’s abundance of other talented pass catchers.

With most of those pass catchers set to return as the top options in 2025, Brown will travel a state over to play at Georgia Southern, where the senior will likely have his biggest role of his college career. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound big body receiver has all the physical tools and big-game experience to thrive in the Sun Belt, especially for a team that could be a piece or two away from winning the conference next season.

As for Auburn, Brown’s departure further cements incoming sophomores [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag] and [autotag]Malcolm Simmons[/autotag] as the top two options for either [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag], or [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag] next season. Second-year receivers [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] and [autotag]Bryce Cain[/autotag] are also candidates to see a larger role in 2025, while freshman [autotag]Derick Smith[/autotag] could also push for a starting spot as soon as he touches down on the Plains.

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Ex-Stanford QB Ashton Daniels commits to Auburn

Daniels commits to Auburn after making 20 starts for the Stanford Cardinal.

Auburn will bring zero scholarship quarterbacks from the 2024 season into 2025 and the coaching staff is working quickly to fill the void.

Two days after landing the signature of former Oklahoma quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag], Hayes Fawcett of On3 reports that Auburn has grabbed the commitment of another experienced quarterback in [autotag]Ashton Daniels[/autotag], formerly of Stanford.

Daniels was the first name to emerge once the winter transfer portal opened on Dec. 6. Steve Wiltfong of On3 submitted a prediction that favored Auburn landing the 20-game starter from Stanford following an interview in which Daniels said he could “be a spark” to the young wide receivers.

Daniels will enter an expected stiff competition between Arnold and five-star signee [autotag]Deuce Knight[/autotag] for the right to be named QB1 for the 2025 season. In three seasons at Stanford, Daniels passed for 3,986 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 1,121 yards and nine scores.

Daniels’ addition brings confidence to the RPO game, as [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] now has three mobile quarterbacks on his roster. Three dual-threat quarterbacks will open play-calling and give Auburn more opportunities to win close games.

Stanford statistical leaders through 11 games

The Irish can’t lose to this team, right?

Stanford is trying to salvage something out of its season. Even its win over Coach Prime and Colorado has become lessened by the fact that Buffaloes turned out not to be much better than the Cardinal. A victory over Notre Dame would by far be the signature of their season. That won’t be easy though.

There are a few talented players on the Cardinal, but they only can do so much to make up for their shortcomings. For instance, the offense lives off the pass to the point where the quarterbacks actually are the top rushers. For our purposes though, we’re discounting them in that category for this listicle. That alone should speak volumes about the Cardinal.

It’s no surprise that a team with this many shortcomings has dragged the Irish to the dying Pac-12 Network for its final live football game. If it somehow pulls off the upset, here are the players most likely to factor in:

After four games it seems Stanford has finally found a quarterback

Stanford has had a lot of issues on offense, but it seems as if quarterback Ashton Daniels has taken the reins from Justin Lamson.

The old football adage is when you have two quarterbacks, you really have no quarterbacks.

That might be the case for Stanford this season as first-year head coach Troy Taylor is making his way through the year. Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson have split time behind center, but in the 21-20 loss to Arizona, Daniels took most of the snaps and it looks like he’s QB1 for now.

Going with Daniels, a 6-foot-2 215-pounder from Buford, GA, would seem like the smart decision. Daniels is completing nearly 60 percent of his passes and the Cardinal are gaining on average 12 yards per completion.

His favorite target, and deservingly so, is tight end Benjamin Yurosek. He was a Second-Teamer last season and the media selected the big 6-4, 248-pounder as a preseason First-Team All-Pac-12 player.

Although every defense knows Yurosek is Stanford’s No. 1 target for whoever is throwing the ball, he still leads the team with 15 catches, 247 yards and a score.

Stanford’s run game is better than what Colorado showed the Ducks, but not by a lot. Tailback Casey Filkins leads the way with 46 yards per game and a touchdown.

This game will feature a below-average offense that will face one of the Pac-12 best defenses. That equation should be bad news for Stanford. But the Ducks still have to do their job at the end of the day.

“I mean this is a bring-your-own juice game, It’s gonna be a different atmosphere,” Lanning said. “But if you step on the grass and it means something to you, you’re gonna step on there and try to perform to a certain level because you have pride in the game.”

Along the offensive front, Stanford had one of the biggest lines in the country. Those days are over. The biggest starting lineman is the center Levi Rogers at 301 pounds. We all saw what the Ducks do to an undersized line and it’s not pretty.

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5 Cardinal the Ducks need to watch out for on Saturday

Stanford has had more than its share of problems this season, but there are five Cardinal that stand out and Oregon needs to watch out for.

This game would probably take a different tone if Stanford hadn’t lost to Sacramento State. The Cardinal are 1-3 with their only win coming at Hawaii, but they should be 2-2. That loss to the Hornets sticks out like a sore thumb, however.

Stanford has gone through two quarterbacks, which is never a good sign. When you play two quarterbacks, it means you don’t have any quarterbacks and the lack of offensive production shows it.

The defense is playing better and had its best game just this past week against Arizona, but the Cardinal still went down 21-20 at home.

Even with the “rebuild,” Stanford has some players Oregon can’t ignore and could hurt the Ducks if they have a letdown. But after the Colorado game, it’s doubtful Dan Lanning will allow that to occur.

Here are five Cardinal that might have an impact on Saturday’s contest down on The Farm.