Auburn Tigers football coach Hugh Freeze may not get to see Deuce Knight play for the rest of the 2025 season. He may even have a limit on how many games Ashton Daniels can be deployed if he wants to maintain eligibility for next season. Daniels saw the field for the first time in an Auburn uniform during a 33-24 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday. He has four appearances to maintain eligibility, and there's four games left.
On3's Justin Hokanson explained the conundrum Freeze is in over the final four after benching Jackson Arnold for Daniels in Fayetteville during the Week 9 win. It affects every signal-caller on the depth chart.
"We'll let things play out, but how Hugh Freeze (or other) handles these QBs moving forward will be really interesting. Ashton Daniels can only play four games if he wants to return next season. He's played one and there are four left," Hokason wrote.
"If Daniels keeps playing well, do you toss Jackson Arnold or Deuce Knight back out there for Mercer? Do Arnold and Knight even want to be tossed back out there for one game like that? Never quite seen a situation like this."
Daniels has to be the guy next week after picking up the win. Unless Daniels was meant to be used as a motivation tool for Arnold to get back on track. Or, seemingly, on track for the first time in conference play.
Freeze probably wasn't thinking that far ahead. He was coaching for his job against the Hogs, and he came up with a sensible solution to his passing game problems: deploying the most proficient passer on the depth park. Knight is an unfinished product, and Arnold is who he is.
Next Saturday's night cap against the Kentucky Wildcats could give fans a sense of direction for how the rest of the season is going to go. Auburn's defense continues to inspire irrational hope.
Maybe Daniels could do the same if given another shot against UK this coming Saturday.
Either way, until the games are played, there's no clarity on whether we've seen any of these QBs for the last time this season. Or at all in a Tigers uniform.
NIL has changed the game and made it unrecognizable.