Stanford transfer returning to starting quarterback role for Auburn vs. Alabama

Ashton Daniels is expected to start at quarterback against Alabama Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Daniels transferred from Stanford to Auburn. He has started in two games this season for the Tigers. The Tigers lost each of those games by seven points.

The Stanford transfer threw for 353 yards and two touchdowns against Vanderbilt en route to the Tigers losing to the Commodores 45-38. He also ran for 39 yards. Daniels sat out Auburn’s last game in a mutual decision between him and the Tigers’ coaching staff.

Auburn’s interim head coach DJ Durkin commended the quarterback for what he was able to do as a scout-team quarterback last week to prepare the Tigers for Mercer.

“I wanted him to keep the speed of the game going, and he helped our defense,” Durkin said. “With Deuce and Jackson very involved in the game plan, he approached it the right way. He’ll be just fine.”

Alabama’s defensive coordinator Kane Wommack complimented Daniels during his Monday press conference.

“I think Ashton has done a really nice job,” Wommack said. “I think they’ve come up with a game plan that he can operate very efficiently in. I thought he did a really good job against Vanderbilt, taking care of the football, putting the ball in the direction, working through his progressions properly, and then certainly he does things from the run game that cause challenges and issues for you.”

Deuce Knight started for Auburn against Mercer, and he was impressive. He threw for 239 yards and ran for 162 yards in Auburn’s win over the Bears. Durkin talked about potentially developing packages for Knight.

“That’s a great idea,” Durkin jokingly said. “I’ll take that back upstairs and see if we can get that done.”

The 2025 edition of the Iron Bowl is set to have its fair share of storylines with Daniels expected to start for the Tigers.