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Transfer Providing Valuable Depth, Leadership in Reloaded Auburn QB Room
Former Stanford starting quarterback Ashton Daniels is providing valuable leadership and depth for the Auburn Tigers. Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Transfer Providing Valuable Depth, Leadership in Reloaded Auburn QB Room

Originally posted on Auburn Tigers on SI
By Micah Farmer  |  Last updated Aug 11, 2025 5:30 PM ET

AUBURN, Ala.-- The Auburn Tigers brought in multiple transfer quarterbacks in the offseason after the departure of two year starter Payton Thorne. Though Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold will start for the Tigers in 2025, fellow transfer Ashton Daniels has also provided valuable leadership and stability in the quarterback room.

Daniels was the starter at Stanford in both 2023 and 2024 and was a solid player for the Cardinal. He racked up over 2,300 total yards in each season, with 2024 seeing a dramatic increase in his rushing output. He also added 28 total touchdowns across the two seasons.

Despite the success, Daniels felt that he needed a change, and once in the portal, he was drawn to Auburn. 

“The culture and the community, just everything Coach [Hugh] Freeze is doing with this culture [made Auburn a good fit],” Daniels said. “I was looking for a place where I could come and football is loved. The community loves Auburn football here, and that’s really special to me. Being in a place where I could grow and learn from that in my last year was really important to me.”

In addition to Auburn’s culture and community, Daniels has an established relationship with one of his fellow quarterbacks. He and Arnold have known each other for some time, and Daniels seems to think that the two can use their relationship to push each other to be better.

“I actually knew Jackson from before we both even started playing football,” Daniels said. “We played baseball together. It’s been awesome. I think we’re both learning from each other, him coming from the SEC and me being in the ACC, we both have a lot of experience. So kind of just learning from each other, watching film together, and all that good stuff. It’s been amazing. I think we’ve both really grown from that.”

Having two experienced quarterbacks in the room will be a big change for Auburn. The last few seasons on The Plains have seen struggles not just from the starting quarterbacks, but from the depth at the position. Backup Hank Brown played in three games for the Tigers in 2024 and struggled, throwing for 403 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.

Daniels offers the Auburn offense an excellent insurance policy should Arnold go down with an injury in 2025. Daniels has exceptional athletic ability and was a highly effective wildcat quarterback at Stanford before becoming the full time starter. With his success at Stanford, the Tigers could substitute Daniels in certain packages to keep him fresh in case he needs to step into Arnold's role.

Additionally, having a solid backup quarterback means that the Auburn passing attack shouldn’t be stunted if Arnold is knocked out of a game. Daniels can still make all the throws needed of him and would let the Tigers’ stars on the outside continue to go to work, which he seems very confident they can do.

“These kids are special, man,” Daniels said. “All you’ve got to do is put it in their radius and they’re going to go up and get the ball. You know, everyone from Horatio [Fields], Bryce Cain, Cam [Coleman], Eric [Singleton Jr], everybody. They’re going to go up and get the ball, and that’s very comforting for a quarterback. It’s easy to build your confidence when you have guys in the room like that who are that special.”

Daniels has also proven the ability to be clutch late in games. Stanford upset then No. 19 Louisville in Palo Alto in 2024, and Daniels led both a 76-yard touchdown drive and 4-second 21-yard drive to put the Cardinal in position for a walk-off game-winning field goal.

Overall, the Auburn faithful should be confident that the offense won’t suffer too much of a drop-off if the Tigers’ starting quarterback goes down. Freeze has an experienced, athletic, and tough player in reserve in Daniels, and that’s more than many teams can say for their own backups.

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This article first appeared on Auburn Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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