As the 2025 season approaches, Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze finds himself under mounting pressure. Entering his third year at the helm, Freeze has yet to deliver a winning season on the Plains.
This season marks a turning point, as it will be the first time Auburn takes the field without Payton Thorne at quarterback under Freeze’s leadership. However, optimism surrounds the program thanks to a top-10 recruiting class and a productive run in the transfer portal, fueling hopes for a breakthrough year.
Freeze and his staff were tasked with overhauling the entire quarterback room, not just replacing Thorne. They added former Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold and ex-Stanford signal-caller Ashton Daniels, along with highly touted freshman Deuce Knight. Arnold has already been named the starting quarterback, but Freeze expressed satisfaction with the spring performances of both Arnold and Knight, noting he anticipates healthy competition among the group.
He didn’t hold back in his praise of the unit, offering a bold endorsement ahead of the new season.
“I’d stack our quarterback room up against anyone in the SEC,” Freeze told reporters last week prior to Jimmy Rane’s scholarship banquet in Montgomery, according to Auburn Undercover. “Between Jackson, Deuce, and Ashton, I think we’ve got three really solid guys. Deuce is unproven, but the other two were highly sought-after transfers.”
With just Arnold, Daniels, and Knight on scholarship, Freeze will enter the season with fewer quarterbacks than he typically prefers—usually favoring four.
“Talk is cheap until we prove ourselves,” Freeze acknowledged. “But I’m confident in those three.”