Auburn football is nearly unanimously seen as a program that made major moves in the transfer portal this offseason after a second straight losing season under Hugh Freeze. Of course, this is year three of saying that, but at some point, all the talent accumulated will probably pay off.
Bleacher Report's David Kenyon labeled AU a December portal cycle winner but didn't sound overly enthusiastic about the QB room, which replaced Hank Brown, Walker White, and Holden Geriner with Jackson Arnold, Ashton Daniels, and Deuce Knight.
"Auburn is desperate for improvement at quarterback. There are worse places to start than Jackson Arnold and Ashton Daniels," Kenyon wrote.
"It's undeniable that Arnold didn't play to expectations in 2024—he likely wouldn't have left Oklahoma otherwise. Still, his upside is worth chasing. Daniels also had a rough season at Stanford but brings two years of starting experience to bolster depth at the position.
"The important thing is the Tigers both understood they needed and aggressively chased more surrounding talent.
"Auburn brought in receivers Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech) and Horatio Fields (Wake Forest), along with likely starting tackles Xavier Chaplin (Virginia Tech) and Mason Murphy (USC). Running back Durell Robinson (Connecticut) eclipsed 800 total yards as a freshman, too.
"Among the defensive transfers, the Tigers added edge-rusher Chris Murray (Sam Houston) and corner Raion Strader (Miami (OH)). Both of them earned first-team all-conference honors in 2024."
As the Payton Thorne years showed, you can have a great roster but won't go anywhere if QB play isn't where it needs to be. Freeze has great pieces up and down his depth chart but he needs to coach them up to prove anything.
It's fair to be skeptical of Arnold after his debut season with Oklahoma and what Freeze has done with every QB he's had on the Plains, not just Thorne.
But if Arnold, Daniels, or Knight can grab the brass ring, this Tigers team could perhaps match the top-ranked expectations some have of Auburn.