According to Tigers HC Hugh Freeze, Jackson Arnold is now Auburn’s presumed starting quarterback heading into summer practice sessions. During a media appearance at The Regions Tradition Golf Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama, the coach spoke about why he feels the Tigers have one of the best quarterback rooms in college football.
Auburn’s quarterback room received a complete makeover after the 2024 season. Since Payton Thorne and Hank Brown are no longer with the program, Freeze had to build this new quarterback room completely from scratch.
Hugh Freeze Says Auburn’s QB Room Rivals the SEC’s Best
Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze named Jackson Arnold the starting quarterback heading into the summer. He also praised the Tigers’ rebuilt quarterback room as one of the strongest in the SEC, and for good reason.
“I like our quarterback room a lot. I would argue that between Jackson [Arnold], Deuce [Knight], and Ashton [Daniels], our quarterback room rivals the top rooms in this league,” Freeze said.
“Now we’ve got to go prove it. Jackson didn’t prove it last year at Oklahoma. There are a lot of factors that could have gone into that. We could talk about — all the injuries, that they had three different coordinators, his loss of confidence. But I do think I saw a growing confidence through him all the way through spring.”
Freeze continued, “I love Deuce Knight. He is going to be a special talent. And obviously, I hadn’t coached Ashton yet but he’ll be here soon. He did great things at Stanford. But Jackson, it’s [QB1 job] his, but I want him looking over his shoulder knowing that ‘Man, dang, Deuce sure did have a dang good practice today.’”
While Jackson’s job looks safe now, Freeze noted his curiosity about the new five-star recruit that Auburn landed, Deuce Knight. He had heard some buzz surrounding his talents following the spring, to which Freeze raved over the skill set he had seen from his incoming freshman signal-caller thus far.
“His arm strength — he can make every single throw as a true freshman, and I haven’t seen that a lot,” Freeze explained. “He’s got this demeanor about him that everybody wants to be around him and is drawn to him. And he has this humility to where, literally, there was not one time in spring ball where something didn’t go his way, and it was always him taking the blame.”
“He’s a zero excuse maker. He comes in and he studies and I just think the sky’s the limit for a guy with that size, that range, that arm strength, that IQ.”
If Arnold maintains the starting job throughout the season, Knight could potentially use his redshirt and maintain all of his eligibility as Arnold enters his junior season.
If he doesn’t transfer, this route could maximize his time playing for Freeze and the Tigers while giving Arnold the ability to prove himself at a new SEC school.
Auburn kicks off its regular season on the road against Baylor on August 29 — a special Friday kickoff. The Tigers are already 1.5-point favorites per FanDuel Sportsbook as Arnold is set to make his Tigers debut.
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