The Auburn Tigers’ QB position is up for the same rigorous battle. The quintessential Jackson Arnold vs. Deuce Knight equation still prevails under the center. Rather, it calls for more intense scrutiny as the team kicked off spring practice this week. Hugh Freeze made a blockbuster portal move, bringing in Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold and 5-star freshman Deuce Knight. He also brought Ashton Daniels from Stanford, but he won’t be in the immediate battle as he will not hit the field until the summer. Now, what should Freeze ideally have in his mind regarding two of the contending QBs in the line?

Knight’s development over the upcoming few months will play a pivotal role in his fate at Auburn. The most anticipated narrative is that Arnold will lead the course of the offense while Knight will help him to get on the pace to run this fall. Quarterback coach Kent Austin is keeping a wide eye on their ongoing progress. As far as he observed, the extra reps have been a great help in honing Deuce’s craft. The former Notre Dame QB, in fact, is giving more than Kent expected from him at such an early point. The freshman quarterback turned out to be a fearless pro on his short passes, getting the ball out very fast and on target.

So, can it flip the script for the 20-year-old, anyway? Well, ON3’s J.D. PicKell doesn’t think so. ”Deuce Knight is going to give Jackson Arnold a pretty good push within this battle. Now, is he going to win the job? I would be surprised… I’m watching the show right now. I would be surprised if he ended up winning the job outright. But I will say the dude, 6’4 213, runs in the 4’4 range and has a wicked left arm. Not playing him is what we call stupid on this show, just a bad idea when you have a dude with that skill set, and you have the offensive acumen that Hugh Freeze does.’‘

Sure, Knight has to develop a lot before he can take up the main guy role at Auburn. In a metaphoric twist, let’s just assume he is, right now, a normal high-gear car that is aspiring to be a sports car in the long run. He will also have a lot of pressure on him leading up to a new season.

The only palpable difference would be that Arnold should kick things off right away. Deuce can take his sweet time to crank it up and eventually accelerate. But his presence alongside Arnold from day 1 will be crucial. ”They’re going to find a way to put him on the field; I can’t prove it, but I can feel pretty confident in promising he will have some sort of role here in 2025,” PicKell remarked.

However, if Arnold fails to deliver, 2025 can go south for Coach Freeze to the point of no return.

Hugh Freeze is betting the dime on Jackson Arnold

Freeze is back for the third season with the Tigers under his belt. But a fourth year is not guaranteed despite the $20 million cap on the pen and paper. The ongoing year can be his make-or-break year at Auburn. And a lot of his fate hinges on the former Sooners’ QB Jackson Arnold. Deuce can’t make up for him in any way. He has a rare poise that is not very common among freshmen, but come on, he is not yet QB-ready. At least, that’s how 147 Sports’ Brad Crawford deems him.

Analyst Brad Crawford saw a looming danger for Freeze’s chance to fall into a “precarious position” if his Jackson Arnold formula was unsuccessful in the offense. “Now, with the Tigers, Arnold has to be a savior of sorts for Hugh Freeze, who could find himself in a precarious situation if the 2025 season goes south. Arnold is going to have a wealth of wideout talent to aid in this transition,” Crawford wrote.

As far as the first week of the spring practice depicts, Arnold throwing the only interception sparked some doubts about his decision-making skills. However, let’s not forget that a good portion of his balls were on target, and his ability to extend plays with his legs stole the show.