Auburn adds a second QB from portal by landing Ashton Daniels from Stanford

Updated Dec. 16, 2024 9:58 p.m. ET

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The Auburn Tigers have picked up a second transfer quarterback, with the addition of two-year Stanford starter Ashton Daniels.

Daniels, who announced his destination Monday on Instagram, joins ex-Oklahoma starter Jackson Arnold in heading to the quarterback-starved Tigers.

Auburn must replace starter Payton Thorne, and two backups have entered the transfer portal. Daniels passed for 3,986 yards, 21 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in three seasons at Stanford. He also ran for 1,117 yards and nine touchdowns.

The announcement came two days after Auburn coach Hugh Freeze nabbed Arnold from the portal. Freeze didn't get a quarterback from the portal last season and the Tigers struggled to a fourth straight losing season.

Meanwhile, Penn State backup Beau Pribula is not sticking around for the team's matchup with SMU in the College Football Playoff.

The redshirt sophomore quarterback has announced he is entering the transfer portal, taking him out of the mix when the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (11-2) host the 11th-seeded Mustangs (11-2) in the opening round on Saturday.

While Pribula wrote in an Instagram post late Sunday night that it had always been a dream of his as a Pennsylvania native to play for the state's flagship school, he added that with a “heavy heart” he is leaving the program after speaking with his family and unidentified Nittany Lions coaches.

“The current NCAA post-season model creates a challenge for student-athletes,” Pribula wrote. “The overlapping CFB playoff & transfer portal timeline has forced me into an impossible decision.”

Clemson, the only Power Four program that didn't take a portal player last year, landed Southeast Missouri State receiver Tristan Smith. He visited the Tigers on Monday and committed a short time later.

The 6-foot-5 Smith had 76 catches for 934 yards and six touchdowns last season. He adds depth at a position where Clemson has lost receivers Noble Johnson and Troy Stellato to the portal.

The transfer portal opened last week, less than 24 hours after the 12-team CFP field was announced.

Though he doesn't start, Pribula has appeared in all 13 games this season for Penn State, usually in packages designed to take advantage of his mobility. Pribula ran for 242 yards and four touchdowns, while also completing 26 of 35 passes for 275 yards with five scores and one interception.

In other Big Ten quarterback news, Wisconsin added a pair of quarterbacks with Billy Edwards Jr. and Danny O'Neil both announcing on social media their intentions to play for the Badgers. Edwards is coming over from Maryland, while O'Neil is transferring from San Diego State.

Edwards completed 65% of his passes for 2,881 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions for Maryland this season. He also has 12 touchdown runs over the last two seasons.

O'Neil started at San Diego State as a freshman this season and completed 63.3% of his passes for 2,181 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Badgers needed to add quarterbacks after Tyler Van Dyke and Braedyn Locke both entered the portal. Van Dyke started Wisconsin's first three games this season before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament. Locke started the Badgers' remaining nine games.

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