Alabama Prepares for Ashton Daniels in Florida State Rematch
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --Alabama will be taking on a familiar foe in Florida State on Saturday, looking to get revenge after last year's 31-17 upset defeat. They will also be taking on former Auburn quarterback Ashton Daniels, whom the Crimson Tide beat last year in the Iron Bowl.
“Certainly you have an understanding of, okay, this is what this quarterback's skill set is,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said of Daniels. “Here are the things that we saw live that he did against us, obviously in the Iron Bowl.”
Last year in Week 9, the Tigers turned to Daniels after benching former five-star QB Jackson Arnold, after he threw a costly pick-six against Arkansas. Daniels was solid in his limited sample size as a starter last season; in his three starts, he tallied 1,077 total yards, with five touchdowns (three passing and two rushing), and a passer rating of 118.4.
Daniels' best of his three starts came against the Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl, when he threw for 259 yards, added 108 rushing yards, threw a touchdown, threw an interception, and posted a passer rating of 105.3.
“I thought he did a really nice job of utilizing his feet, scrambling, extending plays, and hit us on a couple there in the second half by extending some of those plays and keeping the game in a tighter position than we would have wanted it to be,” Wommack said. “And so I think when you watch him, he is a big, strong, physical runner. He is just a physically strong guy, difficult to bring down.”
Daniels brings an elite scrambling ability to the Seminoles, and over Wommack's first 14 games in Tuscaloosa, he struggled at times to contain mobile QBs. In Wommack's first year, his defense suffered losses to Oklahoma, led by Arnold; Vanderbilt, led by Diego Pavia; the Seminoles, led by Tommy Castellanos; and narrowly beat LaNorris Sellers and South Carolina, all of which bring the ability to make plays with their legs.
However, Wommack and his defense have made necessary adjustments in their most recent 15 games, largely putting to rest the narrative that they can't stop mobile QBs. But Daniels and the Seminoles will be a good test for Wommack's "Swarm D," a structured 4-2-5 base scheme he has run since 2020.
Before transferring to Auburn and now FSU, Daniels spent his first three seasons at Stanford University, where he played in 33 games with 20 starts. In his time there, he threw for 3,986 yards, 1,117 rushing yards, and 30 total touchdowns, but did have a problem turning the ball over, as he was picked off 20 times. Daniels has now started 27 games in his collegiate career and has led his team to a 6-21 record in those starts.
“He's played a lot of football, and experience is finite,” Wommack said. “And that's something that, when you look at it, he's been in different systems, but ultimately just feeling comfortable playing in big environments. That's something he has obviously proven that he can do and has done it at multiple places.”
Crimson Tide fans can see Wommack and his defense try to get revenge against the Seminoles on Saturday afternoon at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, with kickoff slated for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
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