Auburn fans might get to see their first look at the future quarterback for the Tigers on Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
On Thursday, Hugh Freeze announced that if the Tigers pull away from Ball State as expected, he will put true freshman Deuce Knight into the game to get him some reps instead of Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels.
That's not a knock on Daniels, who is still the second-string quarterback if Jackson Arnold were to get hurt. And, as Freeze points out, the Buford, Ga., native still has to think about not burning his redshirt as he has two years of college eligibility left.
"Ashton is an incredible player, and we need him," Freeze said per Auburn Undercover. "At the same time, let's just be honest — and I've had this discussion with him — he has another year if he doesn't use it this year. All that is in my mind. I'd love to have that guy for two years. You've got to try to balance all of that, but also do what's best for your football team to win the game."
Auburn is currently a 43.5-point favorite over the Cardinals, who were shut out in their opener against Purdue last Saturday. Freeze isn't overlooking Ball State, nor should he after what happened in the massive upset loss to New Mexico State two years ago.
"First, let's win the game, and whatever that takes — and should we need another quarterback to go in, Deuce will go in," Freeze said.
Knight was a 5-star recruit from George County in Lucedale, Miss., who committed to the Tigers over many other top programs. Per ON3, he was ranked the No. 5 quarterback and No. 25 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class.
Auburn and Ball State kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT from Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game airs on ESPNU.