Once Alex Golesh was hired to be the Auburn Tigers' next head football coach, Ashton Daniels was a goner. While some would've liked the idea of a high-end veteran backup like Daniels behind USF Bulls transfer Byrum Brown on the depth chart, it's now clear that his price tag never would've made sense for a QB2.
As Noles247's Brendan Sonnone explained, while the Florida State Seminoles landed Daniels in the transfer portal at a modest rate, relative to market value for a projected starter, he still came in at a hefty price tag, all things considered.
"The price tag on Auburn transfer Ashton Daniels was initially relayed to us as being in the $800k range, which is well below market value for a starting Power Four quarterback. Since then, further reporting has indicated that it's likely above $1M, and perhaps as much as $1.5M. While the latter would be a significant bump up from the initial reported figure (nearly 2x), it's still below the cost of what it takes to attain a starting signal caller at this level. A year ago, $1.5M-$2M was the going rate for established and perceived quality QB transfers to the P4 level. The market has only gone up," Sonnone wrote.
Alex Golesh made no mistake letting Ashton Daniels leave Auburn
Good for Daniels getting the bag. Having transferred from the Stanford Cardinal as the starter in Palo Alto, Daniels was always going to find a place where he could start. That was never going to be on the Plains with Alex Golesh importing his offensive system. He did well to choose the Tigers with Jackson Arnold as his primary competition last year.
Golesh not only has Brown this season, but he'll have Tristan Ti'a, who stole the show at A-Day and has the inside track to be the starter in 2027, and Locklan Hewlett, who also comes from South Florida. That's more than enough bodies in the QB room.
Daniels, meanwhile, is in a minimal-pressure situation in Tallahassee. Everyone knows he was supposed to play in Gus Malzahn's system, and now plays under Mike Norvell, who is the one with all the pressure. FSU has disappointed for two straight seasons, starting the 2025 season with a 31-17 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide but finishing at just 5-7. 2024 was all on Norvell, when the team went 2-10, and he was calling plays.
Daniels has the chance to become somewhat of a hero on the Seminoles if there are any positive steps. Of course, Norvell's future may not be saved by what would be considered a good season for Daniels. No matter for the Atlanta native, who could play his way into NFL consideration, perhaps as a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent, if he could elevate his team's play.
Daniels hasn't had much success in that department at Stanford or Auburn, but he's finally at a team at the top of the conference with resource advantages over most teams it plays.
We'll see if Florida State gets what it paid for this season under center. Because it wasn't cheap in the grand scheme.
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