Following last season, three Auburn football quarterbacks hit the transfer portal and one ran out of eligibility, effectively cleaning out the position group. The Tigers welcomed freshman Deuce Knight to the team this spring alongside former Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold, and Ashton Daniels will arrive on the Plains later this summer. Whether or not the Tigers will add an additional quarterback from the spring portal window is still up in the air.
Therefore, during spring practice this year, only two scholarship quarterbacks were taking reps for the Tigers, and it meant that Knight got in a lot more work with the team than a freshman typically would. He has also formed a close friendship with Arnold, and the pair have been able to work together and learn from each other in a healthy competition this spring.
Knight got another unusual opportunity this past Saturday during the Tigers' A-Day practice. While Arnold was out nursing a minor hamstring injury, the true freshman took reps with the first team in front of thousands of Auburn football fans.
"I don't think it was anything different, just got to play a little faster," Knight said after his debut, per Auburn Undercover. "That's the whole point of practice. I'd rather get (mistakes) out of the way during practice than in the game. We've just got guys on the other side. If the defense is not doing anything during practice, there's something wrong. I want them to be playing good ball. We've got guys everywhere."
Head coach Hugh Freeze and quarterbacks coach Kent Austin have repeatedly said how impressed they are with Knight as a true freshman this spring, but Freeze also mentioned that Arnold's hamstring injury is minor and he was only held out of the game as a precaution.
The Tigers begin their season against Baylor in Waco, Texas, on Friday, August 29.