Auburn freshman QB Deuce Knight makes program history in first career start
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The Auburn Tigers have struggled all season long on the offensive side of the ball, and that reality is what led interim head coach D.J. Durkin to make a move at quarterback and start true-freshman Deuce Knight against the Mercer Bears.
That move paid off in a big way for Auburn, as Knight was absolutely unstoppable against the FCS powerhouse, racking up 384 total yards and 6 total touchdowns through 3 and a half quarters of action.
Regardless of who they are playing, this is about as good a start as anybody can have to kick off their college career, and Knight also made some program history in the process.
According to the ESPN Insight X account, Knight became the first true freshman in Auburn history to rush for 150+ yards and punch in 4 touchdowns on the ground in a single game.
A 5-star recruit in the 2025 recruiting cycle, Knight committed to the Tigers in October of last year after originally being committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for over a year.
He entered the season as the third man on the depth chart behind former Oklahoma gunslinger Jackson Arnold and Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels, but got the nod against Mercer as Daniels sought to preserve his redshirt.
