Auburn has decided to go with Ashton Daniels as its starting quarterback for Saturday night’s home SEC showdown against Kentucky, according to a report by ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Friday night.
According to Thamel, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze informed his players of the decision on Friday night. The Tigers would be starting the senior Daniels over junior Jackson Arnold, who was benched in favor of Daniels in last Saturday’s victory at Arkansas. Arnold was benched late in the 2nd quarter after throwing an interception that was returned 89 yards for a touchdown by the Razorbacks.
Auburn trailed 21-10 at halftime in Fayetteville, but Daniels gave the Tigers some life in the 2nd half, and Auburn roared back in the 4th quarter in a 33-24 victory that was its first SEC win of the season. According to the Friday night report, Freeze and the program are putting their trust in Daniels to lead them to a 2nd straight SEC win against the Wildcats.
Arnold has been uneven this season for the struggling Tigers, throwing for 1,263 yards with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in his first year at Auburn after transferring from Oklahoma. The Tigers are only 4-4 even after that win last week, and they take a 1-4 SEC mark into the matchup with a Kentucky team that is also struggling this season at 2-5 overall and 0-5 in the SEC.
The Tigers and Wildcats will kick things off at 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network, and Daniels, not Arnold, will reportedly be under center for Auburn.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
