AUBURN | Auburn will have a new starting quarterback this season and two of the top contenders to fill that roll are already off and running with the competition.

The Tigers completed their fourth spring practice Tuesday morning with Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold and true freshman Deuce Knight splitting almost all of the reps.

"They're getting a lot of throws, because there's only two of them right now,” said AU coach Hugh Freeze. “You've got to monitor that. But I'm really pleased with both of those guys right now.”

Arnold completed 198 of 315 of passes (62.8 percent) for 1,984 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions in five starts over two seasons at Oklahoma. He also rushed for 560 yards and four touchdowns.

Arnold had a tumultuous 2024 season that included a benching and the firing of Sooners’ offensive coordinator Seth Littrell in October. He’s getting a fresh start at Auburn and got most of the work with the first-team Tuesday.

“He's got a calm demeanor and confidence. He understands ball. He has a high football IQ. Arm strength is good. There's a reason he was Gatorade Player of the Year coming out of high school,” said Freeze. “I think he needed a restart to regain some confidence. I think he's doing that at a fast, fast pace. His decision-making has been on point.

“In the previous three days — again, you didn't have pads and stuff — there've been very, very few decisions that were the wrong ones. I think he's throwing a very accurate ball. Really impressed with his pocket presence when the traffic is around him, where his eyes are. They stay downfield. He uses his legs when he needs to.”

Knight enrolled in January after throwing for 7,855 yards and 56 touchdowns, and rushing for 1,361 yards and 31 more TD’s for George County High School in Lucedale, Miss.

“Deuce's maturity is way farther along than what I even knew,” said Freeze. “He's hungry to learn and is always asking questions, always wanting to talk about how to improve this and that. He's an extremely hard worker that you have to run off the field. He'll throw too much.”

The third contender, Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels, is attending practices this week while on spring break. He’s scheduled to graduate from Stanford and join Auburn’s team in May.

Spring practice will continue over the next three weeks culminating in the A-Day practice and autograph session April 12.