Stanford QB Ashton Daniels Ready to Add His Name to Historic ACC Quarterback List

Dylan Grausz | Aug 6, 2024

Nov 25, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ashton Daniels (14) throws on the run while being pursued by Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker JD Bertrand (27) during the third quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Making his mark in 2023 with a stellar debut season as Stanford’s starting quarterback, Ashton Daniels has started to join the long line of top Cardinal quarterbacks of the past, with an eye for more in 2024.

Eager to play in a conference that is known for producing some of college football’s top quarterbacks like Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson among others, Daniels is ready to show the football world what he can do and put his name on that list of stars.

“The ACC has always been known for their quarterbacks,” Daniels said. “For example, Deshaun Watson who is from Georgia. I probably looked up to him the most as I was growing up watching college football and all that kind of stuff. And I just know that it means the world to be an ACC quarterback and I’m starting to accept and realize that that is now my role and I’ll forever be grateful for it.”

Daniels will be dealing with a lot of unfamiliarity this season. Not only with being in a new conference and having to travel to and host teams that he and his team may not have seen, but with the loud atmospheres that the Cardinal will deal with this season. Communication between quarterbacks and coaches has evolved, with microphones being implemented into the players’s helmets so that they don’t struggle to hear their coaches.

“There are the schools in the former Pac-12 that had those crazy gameday atmospheres,” Daniels said. “For example, Oregon, Washington and being a freshman and a sophomore last year, I got to experience a lot of that, and I think being in those moments and that atmosphere has allowed me to build confidence in myself. It’s hard sometimes when you go out there and you can’t communicate as well as you can at practice, but now, we have the microphones in the helmets which will help us out a lot.”

Daniels showed immense signs of promise while putting his talent on full display, including in the team’s game against Washington last year when he had 448 total yards of offense, tending to find a groove and dominate. With a team behind him that he trusts and a coaching staff that he has fully bought into, Daniels has been able to slowly build his confidence as the team’s starter.

“When you go out there and you put up big numbers and you have guys that you can count on and that you’re confident in and that you trust, I think you automatically get into that zone,” Daniels said. “And then from then on out, it’s whether you can maintain it for the rest of the game or not. [Playing at] Washington is a great example, we were moving the ball very well offensively, we just couldn’t finish the game. Other than that, I trust my guys, I trust our coaches, our game plan and all that kind of stuff, and I think that’s what really allows me to get into that zone before games.”

Hailing from Georgia but playing in the Pac-12 for the last couple of seasons, Daniels has not had the opportunity in college to play games close to home, but in getting a chance to play at Clemson this year, which is not far from home for him as the school is in South Carolina, he is excited for the chance to not only play a tough team in loud college football environment, but he will get to have some of the people that are closest to him in his life cheering him on when he takes the field there for the first time.

“I’m extremely excited, it’s gonna be awesome,” Daniels said. “They’re known to have one of the greatest college football atmospheres so that’s gonna be a blast going to play in that. I’m obviously gonna have a lot of family, old coaches that are gonna make the trip up so that’ll be exciting. I’m just excited that we have the opportunity to go and play such a prestigious team in such a prestigious atmosphere and I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun and a great challenge for us.”