New school, new number, same question — and Ashton Daniels's early answer at Florida State is 704 team passing 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 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 377 pass yds, 2 TD, 3 INT, at Alabama
The play that turned itSwung Auburn from 12% to 63% to win.Auburn at Vanderbilt · 45-38
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior quarterback for Florida State. 2026: 3 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 PASSING YARDS LEADER
704
Team leader in passing yards (704).
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
The snaps went the other way.
Career arc
Badges
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Mike Norvell.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Florida State
| Season | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Florida State | 46 | 79 | 58.2% | 704 | 8.9 | 4 | 4 | 139.7 | 56 | -- | -- |
| 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 | 480 | 802 | 59.9% | 5,487 | 6.8 | 28 | 26 | 122.4 | 29 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Florida State | 37 | 108 | 2.9 | 4 | -- |
| 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 | 383 | 1,509 | 3.9 | 15 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 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 | |
| Wk 1 | L 24-27vs SMU | 12/23 | 125 | 1 | 0 | 5.4 | 81.3 | |
| Wk 3 | L 36-50@ Alabama | 17/29 | 377 | 2 | 3 | 13.0 | 88.5 | Season-high 377 yds · 3 INTs — rough day |
| Total | 46/79 | 704 | 4 | 4 | 8.6 | 80.6 |
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
Since week 1: +502 passing yards, +3 passing TD, +3 interceptions.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: explosive rate (94th percentile). Strength: rush tds (98th percentile). Concern: interception rate (5th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Season trend
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
6.4583 of 126 QBsSack rate
8.1%111 of 126 QBsSacked on 8.1% of dropbacks (111 of 126) and Adjusted ANY/A trails the field (83 of 126).
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 58.2% completion on 79 attempts · 55% completion on 11 deep attempts (20+ air yds).
Zeitgeist Passer Rating
2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.
Thin sample: 86 dropbacks56Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks
--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet
Positive-play rate weight 24%
39.3%9th pct of FBS QBsshare of dropbacks that gained expected points · -1.3% schedule adj.Yards per attempt weight 56%
8.8196th pct of FBS QBssacks excluded · -0.2 schedule adj.Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)
8.2%12th pct of FBS QBsthe input passer rating cannot see · +0.1% schedule adj.Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (0 of 86 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 164 | 1.0 | 6.5 | 0.5 |
| Road1g | 377 | 2.0 | 13.0 | 3.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 235 | 1.3 | 8.6 | 1.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Norvell
Pass share
40.5%
79 pass / 116 run
Plays / game
65.0
3 games
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Our Heisman model has him inside the top 25; he is not on a published award watch list yet.
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 #97 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…