Jackson Arnold was brought in to be the new Auburn quarterback, but coach Hugh Freeze is talking about playing three signal-callers in the season opener on Friday night.
Arnold, an Oklahoma transfer, didn’t run away with the competition, so Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels and prized freshman Deuce Knight also are expected to see action at QB when the Tigers face Baylor at Waco, Texas.
Arnold, a former five-star recruit, was expected to be the main quarterback after receiving an NIL deal reportedly approaching $2.5 million via the transfer portal. But he averaged just 5.8 yards per passing attempt with the Sooners last season and hasn’t been carving it up on the practice field this month, either.
In fact, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze acknowledged the defense was told to back off at times to aid Arnold.
“The No. 1 priority of practice is for our quarterback to leave that field confident,” Freeze said. “I am going back to that this year.”
The Bears’ defense certainly won’t play along and also will have to prepare for Daniels and Knight.
Daniels passed for 21 touchdowns against 20 interceptions over the past two seasons for Stanford, while Knight has displayed all the necessary tools.
“Without giving away too much, I think there’s a place for both of those guys that you can play to their strengths,” Freeze said of the plan against Baylor. “We won’t be afraid to do that. (Knight) can make any throw on the field, and he has a poise about him for a freshman that’s unique.”
The Tigers are looking for their first winning campaign in Freeze’s three seasons at the school. They went 5-7 last season and 6-7 the previous year.
Baylor (8-5 in 2024) has no problems at quarterbacks, with Sawyer Robertson back for his second full season as the team’s starter. He passed for 3,071 yards and 28 touchdowns against eight interceptions last season.
Robertson’s improvement was a big reason why the Bears were vastly better than the disappointing team that went 3-9 in 2023.
“A lot of the guys that are here right now, and that had roles in last year’s successful season, were also on that 3-9 team when nobody liked us,” Robertson told reporters. “So just keeping that chip on our shoulder is the main thing, and building off of how we ended last season.”
Baylor won its last six regular-season games in 2024 before losing 44-31 to LSU in the Texas Bowl.
