Auburn football could get its first real look at five-star freshman quarterback Deuce Knight this weekend.
Head coach Hugh Freeze confirmed Thursday that Knight will be the first QB off the bench behind starter Jackson Arnold in Saturday night’s home opener against Ball State.
The Tigers are a major favorite against the Cardinals, Freeze wants to take advantage of the opportunity to get his young playmaker game reps before the SEC rivals come storming into Jordan-Hare Stadium. Instead of turning to Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels, who started the last two seasons, Freeze explained the move was about managing Daniels’ redshirt eligibility.
“First, let’s win the game and whatever that takes. And should we need another quarterback to go in, Deuce will go in, and we’ll kind of go from there,” Freeze told reporters Thursday.
Knight, the No. 6 quarterback in the 2025 class, impressed during preseason camp and went 7-fo-7 in Auburn’s mock game scrimmage. If Arnold were to go down with an injury, or if there is an early lead for the Tigers, Freeze made clear that Daniels would immediately step in.
Kickoff for Auburn-Ball State is set for 6:30 p.m. CST on ESPNU.
[H/T Nathan King, 247Sports]
