Why Auburn football's sitting Ashton Daniels, what it'll look like at QB vs. Mercer

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

AUBURN — To DJ Durkin, a head coach’s job requires doing what’s best for the program, as well as doing what’s best for an individual player.

“Anytime you can thread that needle where those two things align, that’s the best,” he said Monday, Nov. 17.

Auburn football‘s facing just that this weekend, as Durkin announced the Tigers won’t play senior quarterback Ashton Daniels against FCS Mercer on Saturday, Nov. 22, in an effort to preserve his redshirt.

“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,” Durkin said. “It’s tremendous for this program and also for him. He has great football ahead of him.”

Here’s a rundown of Durkin’s comments about the decision and how the Tigers will handle the quarterback situation in the second-to-last game of the season.

What DJ Durkin said about Auburn football sitting Ashton Daniels

Durkin wasn’t shocked by Daniels’ willingness to sit out this weekend. Presumably, that’s what Daniels wanted, but Durkin indicated the Stanford transfer wouldn’t have batted an eye regardless of what Auburn’s coaching staff decided.

“He would’ve been 100% with (anything) and been full speed ahead and not flinched,” Durkin said. “I think he’s just a tremendous person. Great character, great teammate. His teammates know that. You see the guys rallying around him. He’s amazing.”

Durkin also said that he spoke with Daniels’ parents as the decision was being made, and their response was equal. It was a reaffirmation that sitting Daniels was “the right thing to do.”

“That’s why we’re doing it,” Durkin said. “I also want to be clear, this was not something they were pressured or pushed into. They were ready to do whatever the team asked of them, which I think is pretty incredible.”

How will Auburn football look at quarterback against Mercer? What DJ Durkin said

Durkin said that both Deuce Knight and Jackson Arnold will see the field against the Bears, though a decision hasn’t been made on who will get the starting nod.

“I met with both of them yesterday and they are both tremendously excited about this,” Durkin said. “I feel like Deuce has a lot of great football ahead of him. He hasn’t had that opportunity, but he’s going to get that opportunity. We practiced last night and you can tell the difference. The same with Jackson. Jackson is a tremendously talented guy.”

Arnold, a former five-star prospect, was Auburn’s starter through its first eight games. Including his brief return against Kentucky, he has thrown for 1,278 yards while completing 63.3% of his passes. That includes six passing touchdowns and two interceptions, and he has also rushed for 278 yards and another sevens scores.

Like Arnold, Knight was a five-star prospect out of high school. He has played in just one game this fall, however, running the offense in the final quarter of a blowout win against Ball State.

“With Deuce, it’s like any other guy,” Durkin said. “You give him a plan and the right tools that suit his strengths. It starts with his teammates around him. The quarterback position gets the spotlight. They often get more credit than they deserve and definitely get more blame than they deserve. It’s about the guys around him. I think Deuce understands that, too. … His job is to be the distributor of the ball to those guys and that’s what we’re going to ask him to do.”

Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.To support Adam’s work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: What DJ Durkin said about Auburn football sitting QB Ashton Daniels

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos