New school, new number, same question — and Ashton Daniels's early answer at Florida State is 669 team rushing yards leader.
6′2″ · 225 lb · Buford, GA · Buford
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
passing yards · 2026
2 TD · 1 INT · 6.5 per attempt
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 125 pass yds, 1 TD, 71 rush yds, vs SMU
The play that turned itSwung Auburn from 12% to 63% to win.Auburn at Vanderbilt · 45-38
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 quarterback for Florida State. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
Aura™ · Him Watch
+41aura tax
28th pctl our passing-value metric (wEPA) QBs · 160 qualified, n=125
— more hype than the tape.Buzz vs Tape
He's mentioned more than 70% of qualified QBs this season, but his production sits in just the 29th percentile — a gap of 41 points between volume and tape.
Also worth knowing:
“I wish we had kept Ashton Daniels Vet Experienced Decent QB”
Fan claims · every quote verified verbatim
Ashton Daniels cannot find them all game. Deuce Robinson had a 7 inch advantage on his DB and Daniels goes to him once or twice all game.
Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 8, 2026 · via Josh Pate's College Football Show
I hope he proves me wrong but Ashton Daniels is not it. He's not the kind of quarterback Florida State University should have.
Based on 2 comments from 1 poster across 1 thread · Jul 22, 2026 · via Florida State Football - Warchant TV
Ashton Daniels
Ashton Daniels arrives at Florida State with a new fit to prove and an old chapter behind him.
TEAM RUSHING YARDS LEADER
669
Team leader in rushing yards (669).
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-15
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
The snaps went the other way.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Mike Norvell.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Florida State
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Elite: rush tds (88th percentile). Strength: rush yards (85th percentile). Concern: pass yards (0th percentile).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
5.4361 of 75 QBsSack rate
7.4%66 of 75 QBsSacked on 7.4% of dropbacks (66 of 75) and Adjusted ANY/A trails the field (61 of 75).
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 58.0% completion on 50 attempts · 41% of attempts thrown 0–9 air yds.
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 164 YDS/g, 1.0 TD/g, 6.5 YPA, 0.5 INT/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Norvell
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2026
Our Heisman model has him inside the top 25; he is not on a published award watch list yet.
| Season | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Florida State | 29 | 50 | 58.0% | 327 | 6.5 | 2 | 1 | 122.1 | 40 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Auburn | 68 | 119 | 57.1% | 797 | 6.7 | 3 | 2 | 118.4 | 33 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Stanford | 170 | 271 | 62.7% | 1,700 | 6.3 | 10 | 12 | 118.7 | 19 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Stanford | 191 | 327 | 58.4% | 2,247 | 6.9 | 11 | 8 | 122.3 | 29 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Stanford | 5 | 6 | 83.3% | 39 | 6.5 | 0 | 0 | 137.9 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 463 | 773 | 59.9% | 5,110 | 6.6 | 26 | 23 | 120.6 | 27 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Florida State | 24 | 101 | 4.2 | 2 | -- |
| 2025 | Auburn | 63 | 280 | 4.4 | 2 | -- |
| 2024 | Stanford | 148 | 669 | 4.5 | 3 | -- |
| 2023 | Stanford | 110 | 296 | 2.7 | 3 | -- |
| 2022 | Stanford | 25 | 156 | 6.2 | 3 | -- |
| Career | 370 | 1,502 | 4.1 | 13 | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 34–17
202 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · QBR 72.0 · 30 rush yds (8 car) · 1 TD
With S. Singleton — 42 rush yds (9 car) · 1 TD · O. Kromah — 115 rush yds (14 car) · 1 TD
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-17vs New Mexico State | 17/27 | 202 | 1 | 1 | 7.5 | 72.0 | Season-high 202 yds |
| Wk 1 | L 24-27vs SMU | 12/23 | 125 | 1 | 0 | 5.4 | 81.3 | Season-high 202 yds |
| Total | 29/50 | 327 | 2 | 1 | 6.5 | 76.7 |
Play style
Extends plays with his feet until something opens up.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Makes plays with feet when the pocket collapses. Efficiency still on the rise.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Ashton Daniels’s 2023 season.
Matches Ashton on
Differs from Ashton on
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Mark Gronowski’s path through Iowa.
Matches Mark on
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Aveon Smith's senior season at Miami (OH) (2023).
Matches Aveon on
Differs from Aveon on
Player DNA
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peaked at #109 this season.
BEFORE FSU: Played 37 career games with 23 starts over four seasons at Auburn and Stanford…has thrown for 4,783 yards and 24 touchdowns and added 1,397 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in career…passed for 797 yards and three touchdowns in four games at Auburn in 2025…ran 63 times for 280...