Auburn Tigers head football coach Hugh Freeze’s praise for QB Jackson Arnold is a dead giveaway of his preference for the Tigers’ starting QB this season, but the possibility of star freshman Deuce Knight handling the reins still looms as a strong what-if in the Plains.
Knight’s skills have been the talk of the town ever since he said yes to Auburn in 2024.
Many view them as the last-ditch effort in saving the program if Arnold doesn’t live up to his hype.
Analyst Cole Cubelic believes even if Arnold struggles to perform in 2025 as Tigers’ starter, Freeze still has Knight to count on in 2025.
Until then, Arnold can facilitate as the “bridge QB” in case things go wrong.
“Uber talented, has the ability to be a gigantic playmaker. But I think the experience is just not there and he’s not quite ready yet. There’s a reason they brought Ashton Daniels in from Stanford, who’s actually played, who’s actually been a starter. If things don’t get reset or rewired for Jackson Arnold, could be a really nice stopgap until [Knight] is prepared,” Cubelic said Tuesday on The Paul Finebaum Show.
The analysts believe the freshman still needs to get seasoned before becoming the starter.
“I’ve talked to multiple people in recruiting who say ‘Listen, he’s still raw. He’s not ready to go be a collegiate starter just yet. Doesn’t mean he won’t be great.’ But I don’t look at him being a viable possibility this season,” Cubelic said.
Either way, it doesn’t seem that Freeze has many plans on making Knight their QB right away.
Freeze will still test out the waters with Arnold and, given his confidence in him, try to have a long-overdue winning season.
If not in 2024, then Freeze will have another strong shot at it in 2025.
