The 2025 Auburn football season has been a much bigger dumpster fire than expected. It culminated in the Tigers firing Hugh Freeze as head coach. The Tigers have had offensive issues all season and have struggled to play consistent offense throughout the year. They have switched through two different quarterbacks and will use two options in their game against Mercer with a twist.
According to On3's Justin Hokanson, when speaking to the media on Monday, Auburn football interim head coach D.J. Durkin mentioned that Jackson Arnold and true freshman Deuce Knight will play against Mercer on Saturday. Stanford transfer quarterback Ashton Daniels is sitting out to preserve his redshirt and will be back against Alabama. It is also worth noting that Durkin did not name a starter for the game.
Daniels, a senior transfer from Stanford, has suited up three times for the Tigers this season and can only play in one more game to redshirt and retain another year of eligibility.
With Auburn finishing at home against No. 10 Alabama, Durkin opted to keep Daniels off the field until the Iron Bowl, where the Tigers could potentially knock Alabama out of playoff contention.
“You have a great responsibility as a head coach to do what is best for your football team and your program at all times,” Durkin said. “That's what you were hired to do. That's what you need to do. I also feel that you have a great responsibility to the young men that you coach and to their families to do what is best for them.
“Anytime you can thread that needle where those two things align, that's the best and what makes it work. I think in this case we have that. The best thing for Ashton is to be able to preserve his redshirt year and be able to come back and play another year.”
Daniels first saw action against Arkansas when he took over for Jackson Arnold and led Auburn to a win. Then, he was in the game when Kentucky beat Auburn 10-3, and finally, he had a fantastic game in their most recent matchup against Vanderbilt. Daniels had a total of 442 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-38 overtime loss.
This is an opportunity for Arnold to get right after how inconsistent he has looked all year. It is also an opportunity for Auburn fans to see what they have in four-star freshman phenom Deuce Knight.
