Auburn confirms QB plans for Mercer game as Ashton Daniels weighs redshirt decision
By David Wasson
Published:
Auburn Tigers interim coach DJ Durkin said Monday that Ashton Daniels will not play on Saturday against Mercer.
Daniels has already played in 3 games this season and the program wants to ensure Daniels will be able to take a redshirt year in 2025. Players can only feature in a maximum of 4 games every regular season while maintaining a redshirt.
“You have a great responsibility as a head coach to do what is best for your football team and your program at all times. That’s what you’re hired to do and what you need to do,” Durkin told reporters at his weekly Monday news conference. “And you have a responsibility to the young men you coach and their families to do what is best for them. Any time you can thread the needle when those two things align together, that is the best and what makes it work.
“I think the best thing for Ashton is to be able to preserve his redshirt year and be able to come back and play another year.”
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If Daniels doesn’t play vs. Mercer, he could return for the Iron Bowl against Alabama and still keep his year of eligibility in-tact.
Daniels, who transferred to Auburn in 2025 after 3 seasons at Stanford, went 50-for-80 for 538 yards with 2 touchdown passes and an interception. He started Nov. 1 against Kentucky (a 10-3 loss that then saw coach Hugh Freeze fired) and also Nov. 8 against then-No. 18 Vanderbilt (a 45-38 overtime loss).
Durkin went on to say that both senior Jackson Arnold (1,278 passing yards with 6 TDs and 2 interceptions) and freshman Deuce Knight will play for the Tigers this Saturday against Mercer (2 pm ET, SEC Network+).
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
