Can Ashton Daniels Save Florida State Football
· Yahoo Sports
With one year of eligibility remaining, only a few players in college football will face more pressure in 2026 than Ashton Daniels. The Florida State transfer quarterback started his college career at Stanford and spent the 2025 season at Auburn.
The immediate goal for Daniels is to stabilize the Seminoles' offense and help return a once-proud program to the days of glory. With seven combined wins in the last two seasons, Daniels enters the season as QB1 in Mike Norvell's offense after winning the job during the spring.
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A Georgia native, Daniels starred at Buford High School, where he led the Wolves to three state championships and earned MVP in each title game. As a three-star recruit, he chose Stanford over more prestigious football programs, beginning a journey that has taken him from the West Coast to back home in the South.
Daniels did not play much as a freshman at Stanford, but took over the starting quarterback job in 2023. In 2023, he set a career high with 2247 yards passing, including 11 touchdowns.
The dual-threat quarterback also had 292 rushing yards and three rushing scores. The highlight of that season was a 396-yard passing performance that included four touchdowns in a dramatic comeback against Colorado.
In Daniels’ second season as the starter, he threw for 1,700 yards, including 10 touchdowns. On the ground, the athletic Daniels ran for 669 yards and three more scores. The dual-threat quarterback had three games where he rushed for over 100 yards.
Daniels hit the portal and transferred to Auburn in 2025. In only four starts at Auburn, Daniels set a career-high 442 yards of total offense against Vanderbilt and 367 total yards against Alabama. In these games, Daniels showed elite athletic ability and put college football on notice about his ability to make plays against the big dogs.
In his single season at Auburn, he had 1077 yards combined passing and rushing, and five touchdowns.
Entering his final season, Daniels has played in 37 games, including 23 starts. Heading into his final season of college football, he has already passed for 4,783 yards, including 24 touchdowns through the air. On the ground, he has 1397 rushing yards and 11 more scores.
He brings unique experience, having had success in the ACC and SEC. For Mike Norvail, having an experienced player could be the difference between his keeping his job in 2027 and being fired.
At Florida State, Daniels will have the luxury of throwing to All-ACC wideout Duce Robinson, combined with a talented stable of backs. The Noles have weapons on offense, and Daniels should excel with this elite group of players.
Daniels will need to focus on decision-making and turnovers as the next step in his development. NFL scouts will love his experience, athletic ability, and numbers in big games, but he will need to limit the turnovers as the next step in his progression. Turnovers against this 2026 schedule will probably cost him a chance to be drafted early.
For Daniels, 2026 is a tremendous opportunity to establish himself as one of college football's best quarterbacks and lead Florida State back to being relevant.
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