As kickoff nears, most teams are narrowing their QB1 competition, but Auburn’s quarterback room just became a three-headed monster. Jackson Arnold might be leading, but he’s certainly not alone; we’re not just talking about Deuce Knight here. Well, Hugh Freeze didn’t just grab a big name from the Oklahoma portal. He brought in serious 5,107-yard firepower, and now the Tigers are set to shake up the SEC. Just when many thought it was a two-man race between Arnold and five-star freshman Knight, Auburn insider Nathan King threw in a spicy wildcard: Ashton Daniels.

On June 10, the host fired up the 3 Man Front podcast and went straight to the heart of the QB battle. Could this be more than Arnold vs. Knight? Nathan didn’t flinch. “Think you definitely could. I’m going to kind of steer the other way. I think you could have a competition between Jackson Arnold and Ashton Daniels.”

Nathan King laid out. “I think Ashton Daniels is flying a bit under the radar. He is a summer enrollee, and that’s never great, especially when Jackson Arnold commanded all of those sorts of steam rests. He got tons of experience in the spring.” Auburn’s QB chaos just added a dual-threat machine with 20 career starts and 5,107 total yards at Stanford.

Daniels isn’t just some quiet transfer hoping for backup minutes. Nah, he’s got tools. Strong arm, live legs, and that RPO swagger Freeze loves. Even without full spring reps—thanks to Stanford’s quarter system—Daniels was in town early, watching, learning, absorbing. “But with Stanford being on a quarter system, Ashton Daniels was actually in town for, like, a couple weeks of practice. He [Ashton Daniels] was there. He was watching, he was absorbing. He just wasn’t on the practice. I think that’s got to count for a little bit. But Ashton Daniels is a really, really interesting take. He’s got a lot of tools. He’s got big arms… was on a couple of bad game at Stanford but I think if it kind of clicked for him, he may have an opportunity.” 

Ashton Daniels’ 2024 season was straight-up unpredictable—didn’t exactly torch teams through the air, but made big noise on the ground. He threw for 1,700 yards with 10 TDs and 12 picks, hitting 62.7% of his passes. But the real juice came with his legs—he racked up 669 rushing yards and 3 scores, breaking Stanford’s single-season QB rushing record. Turnovers? Yeah, too many. But when things got messy, Daniels still moved the chains with that dual-threat swag.

Across three years at Stanford, he stacked up 3,986 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions, plus 1,121 yards and 9 TDs rushing in 33 games. His 60.8% career completion rate doesn’t scream elite, but considering how shaky that O-line was, the man held it down. Come December 2024, Daniels jumped in the portal and didn’t waste time—he’s now in Auburn colors, ready to shake up that QB room.

Let’s not downplay what Arnold brings, though. He’s the one Freeze publicly backed. “I like what I’ve seen from Jackson, and we need him to have success early on,” Freeze said. Simple, clear, and full of pressure. Jackson Arnold’s time is now, and Auburn isn’t waiting for development season. This isn’t a rebuild. It’s a race to eight wins and relevance.

But the receipts don’t lie—Jackson was shaky at Oklahoma last year. Nine starts, one game over 200 yards. In the bowl against Missouri? Just 74 yards. The Sooners fell 23-30, and Arnold looked like a deer in headlights. That doesn’t mean he can’t throw a football. It just means he’s not immune to competition. And Freeze? He knows it. That’s why he didn’t just settle for a 5-star. He brought in a man who’s put up 3,986 passing yards and 1,121 rushing yards at Stanford.

Auburn AD John Cohen keeps it real about Hugh Freeze running the Tigers’ football

John Cohen isn’t hiding behind press releases or excuses. He sat down on WNSP-FM’s “The Opening Kickoff” and made it clear: he’s still riding with Hugh Freeze. “Does our locker room have buy-in? The answer is unequivocally yes,” Cohen said. And he’s got a point. Despite a brutal 5-7 season and two straight years without a bowl game, Freeze hasn’t lost the room.

Recruiting? Locked in. Two top-10 classes back-to-back. Freeze is stacking talent, no doubt there. But it hasn’t translated—yet. Cohen pointed to the little margins: kicker Alex McPherson missing multiple field goals due to illness, flipping 8-4 into 5-7 real quick. “If you go 8-4… the whole world says that’s progress.”

But let’s not sugarcoat it. Auburn’s got 11 wins in two years. Zero bowl games. No more than six wins in a season since 2019. That’s not just a slump; that’s a drought. And somehow, Freeze became the first coach in 50 years to survive two L seasons and still keep his job. Freeze knows he has to win now, and he admitted it: “I’m not a fool. I think we have to go to a bowl game.”

That schedule in 2025? Absolutely diabolical. Georgia, Bama, A&M, and Oklahoma are all on the docket. Auburn better have their QB figured out by September, or things could get spooky real fast. But if Arnold steps up, if Daniels clicks, or if Deuce Knight shocks the world—this could be the year Auburn punches back. Hugh Freeze knows his seat isn’t just warm. It’s on medium-high. But with a three-headed dragon in the QB room, top-10 recruiting classes, and an AD still willing to bet on him, the chips are on the table.