Breaking news:Hugh Freeze’s Set Payton Thorne in a transfer portal to add $90 million to Auburn tigers To support the team…

Breaking news:Hugh Freeze’s Set Payton Thorne in a transfer portal to add $90 million to Auburn tigers To support the team…

Hugh Freeze’s transfer portal recruiting at QB for Auburn football has not impressed one analyst

Hugh Freeze brought on two QBs, Jackson Arnold and Ashton Daniels, to replace the complete loss of his 2024 Auburn football QB room. CBS Sports’ Will Backus gave Arnold a “C” grade and Daniels a “C-” grade.

On the Arnold addition, Backus criticized Freeze for not finding more of an upgrade over Thorne in the passing department.

“Arnold does bring a blue-chip pedigree to Auburn and there is a chance that he develops into something better, but he isn’t the plug-and-play solution that coach Hugh Freeze needs after two disappointing years. Arnold was actually benched early on in the 2024 season before making his return and finishing the year as a starter. Arnold at least adds an extra dimension with his legs, though he isn’t a significant upgrade in the passing department over previous starter Payton Thorne. Overall a pretty uninspiring move for a program that needed to make a splash,” Backus wrote.

Backus was brutal discussing Daniels, doubting Freeze’s ability to develop any QBs anymore on the Plains.

“Daniels has some interesting athletic traits with mobility and a big arm, but he hasn’t developed much as a true passer in three years at the collegiate level. He threw more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10) in 2024 and he can also be a little careless with the ball when running. Freeze has developed quarterbacks well in the past, though nothing about his time at Auburn thus far suggests that he’ll totally unlock Daniels. For now, this move adds nothing more than an average bit of insurance,” Back

us wrote.

Daniels has some interesting athletic traits with mobility and a big arm, but he hasn’t developed much as a true passer in three years at the collegiate level. He threw more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10) in 2024 and he can also be a little careless with the ball when running. Freeze has developed quarterbacks well in the past, though nothing about his time at Auburn thus far suggests that he’ll totally unlock Daniels. For now, this move adds nothing more than an average bit of insurance,” Backus wrote.

Some saw landing Arnold as a way to stick it to Alabama since the Atlanta native led Oklahoma to a 24-3 win over the Crimson Tide. Outside of that win, Arnold’s record isn’t all that impressive.

Daniels was a complete depth play. The Stanford transfer won’t play unless there’s a true emergency under center. Whether that means just Arnold going down or Deuce Knight also being unable to play is unclear as Freeze looks to figure out his depth chart.

Overall, most see Knight as Freeze’s best QB prospect, but with Arnold in tow, there’s no clear path to the starting role for Knight just yet.

Let’s hope such a path exists and he doesn’t hit the portal, leaving Freeze’s 2025 class in shambles. Who Freeze would’ve gotten to cause Knight to do so will likely never been seen as worth such a loss.