Ashton Daniels

#14 · QB · 5th-year · Florida State6′2″ · 225 lb · Buford, GA

ZPR6723rd of 119 QBsLast gameL 24–36vs Clemson · Oct 31
Nextat Boston CollegeSat Nov 7 · 12 pm ET
via seminoles.com ↗

Graded Solid or better in each of the last two games.

Last game: L 24-36 vs Clemson, Oct 31 · 21 of 33 for 350 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, a lost fumble · 15 carries for 21 yards, a rushing touchdown. Started all eight of Florida State’s games.

Florida State’s next game: at Boston College, Sat Nov 7, 12:00 p.m. ET · ACC Network

Florida State has lost three straight in the games played. A chain-mover who throws deeper than most and runs a lot.

Strongest: 17% of throws gain 20 or more yards, tied for 4th best of 158 starters. Weakest: an interception on 5.1% of throws, 6th highest of 158 starters.

Passing yards

1,968

127 of 214, 59%

TD–INT

14–11

9.2 per throw

NCAA rating

147.9

43rd of 119

ZPR

67

23rd of 119

How ZPR works

One rough passing grade, at Louisville.

  • 0-3 against ranked teams, 267 passing yards a game.

Best by our grade: Clemson. Lowest: at Louisville, with 1 interception. Biggest game: at Miami, No. 3.

Tap a game for its plays

Q1Q2Q3Q4

Season

Gets better after halftime

How to read this

Each column is a quarter. Blue and up is a good stretch for the quarterback, red and down a bad one, hatched means the game was already decided. A red cross is a turnover and a black dot a touchdown. The word on the right grades the whole game; on games with a lot of running it grades the passing only. A gold line means the r/CFB game thread kept naming the quarterback. Tap a game to open its plays: each bar is one of the quarterback’s plays, up helped the team’s chance of winning and down hurt it, and the grey line is that chance.

The word grades the game against every FBS quarterback start, from Rough to Great, using the same throws as the season Zeitgeist Passer Rating and adjusting for the defense faced. Bars are points added per throw in that quarter. The Season row leaves out quarters after a game was decided.

Style of play

Chain-mover

Also: mobile, big-play arm, deep thrower

Why this word
Runs7.8 a gameRarelyA lot
Throws10.3 yards past the lineShortDeep
Completes59%FewerMore
Takes sacks7% of dropbacksRarelyOften

The dot is this quarterback, among this season’s starters; the tick is the middle.

Throws deeper than most and runs a lot. 7.8 carries a game. Closest matches: Wilson, Sheppard, Green ’25, Castellanos ’25.

Where the throws go

Behind the line23%typical 17%
Short35%typical 47%
Middle22%typical 22%
Deep20%typical 14%

Runs 7.8 times a game; 85% of starters run less.

Closest in style

WilsonSheppardGreen ’25Castellanos ’25This QB

Nearer the middle means more alike.

  • Wilson Colorado · Mobile passer
    1,164 yards, 7 TD, 7 INT so far. Both throw deep and run a lot.
  • Sheppard Temple · Chain-mover
    1,245 yards, 8 TD, 3 INT so far. Both run a lot and throw deep.
  • Green ’25 Arkansas 2025 · Dual-threat
    2,714 yards, 19 TD, 11 INT. Drafted in round 6 (No. 182 overall) by Cleveland, 2026. Both miss more and run a lot.
  • Castellanos ’25 Florida State 2025 · Vertical passer
    2,760 yards, 15 TD, 9 INT. Both miss more and run a lot.

Compared with the 158 FBS starters this season for throws and running, and with 219 quarterbacks across 2 seasons for the matches, on how they play and how they have done.

This week

  • RecordFlorida State is 3-5.
  • Fans after Clemson

    Dude I swear to god Ashton Daniels is lobotomized

    Florida State fan

What’s being said

5 stories this week, from 3 outlets.

Oct 29: 1Oct 31: 1Nov 1: 2Nov 2: 1L 24-36 vs ClemsonLOct 29Nov 4Most in a day: 2
Oct 29: 1Oct 31: 1Nov 1: 2Nov 2: 1L 24-36 vs ClemsonLOct 29Nov 4Most in a day: 2
Stories per day. W and L: the team’s results.

Clemson football vs Florida State, see top photos of Tait Reynolds vs Ashton Daniels

The Greenville News Oct 31

All 116 stories this season

Worth knowing

  • Ashton Daniels's 14 touchdown passes are the most by a Florida State quarterback through 8 games since Jordan Travis's 18 in 2023.
  • Ashton Daniels played at Stanford and Auburn before joining Florida State.

His most important play this season

  1. Q4, 5:30 · Florida State down 11Ashton Daniels finds Jasen Lopez for a 41-yard touchdownClemson at Florida State, week 9Q4, 5:30 · Florida State 24, Clemson 29Florida State cut the deficit to 5 in the fourth quarterFlorida State cut the deficit to 5 in the fourth quarterA.Daniels pass complete deep left to J.Lopez caught at CLM00, for 41 yards to the CLM00 touchdown, 1ST DOWN A.Daniels pass attempt failedWatch from this playESPN College Football

All 26 of his plays on video

Ashton Daniels

QB · Florida State · #14

Filling the Shoesas of Nov 4

Daniels posted 1,968 passing yards and 14 touchdowns in 2025, inheriting the job from Thomas Castellanos.

1,968passing yards14passing TD375rushing yards

Rushing value per play

+0.59

our model · 2026 · 66 plays

Read the story so far

The 2025 numbers tell a functional story: 1,968 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, 375 rushing yards, and a positive rushing value per play. What they do not settle is whether Daniels is the answer or a placeholder. Fan discourse ranges from 'not complete trash' to genuine confidence in his leadership. Rival observers are skeptical FSU will punch back under him, citing effort and focus concerns that predate Daniels himself.

The O-line questions that shadowed him last season have not gone away, and that may matter more than anything Daniels does under center.

QB successionleap of faith
  • Inherited fromThomas Castellanos 3★

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04