The Auburn Tigers reportedly lost redshirt senior quarterback Ashton Daniels to the Transfer Portal on Sunday, but it didn't take much time for his next landing spot to become immediately clear.
As Stanford Cardinal On SI's Dylan Grausz noted, Daniels' original offensive coordinator in Northern California, Tavita Pritchard, is now back with the program as their head coach. A reunion is, if nothing else, a logical thought.
"With Stanford football needing to find a quarterback this season, could Daniels be in play to go back to the school where he started his college career?" Grausz asked "With Stanford football needing to find a quarterback this season, could Daniels be in play to go back to the school where he started his college career?
"... in Daniels' first season on The Farm before becoming the starting quarterback, he had new head coach Tavita Pritchard as his offensive coordinator. By the time Daniels took over the reins, Pritchard departed to serve as the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders while head coach David Shaw was replaced by Troy Taylor, forcing Daniels to adjust to a whole new regime while adjusting to his new role.
"Now that Pritchard is back, Stanford could be an enticing option for Daniels, considering that he could reunite with the coach that recruited him in the first place."
Ashton Daniels wasn't long for Auburn after Hugh Freeze's firing
Daniels looked more capable as QB1 than Jackson Arnold, but Alex Golesh's hiring always put him behind the 8-ball. Once it became clear that retaining Deuce Knight, and not Daniels, was more of an offseason priority, this announcement became formality.
Perhaps it was a formality once Pritchard was officially named Stanford's next coach on November 28.
Either way, Daniels now becomes a top QB option for the Cardinal after a year on the Plains and three starts for Auburn.