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Auburn coach Hugh Freeze confirmed during Monday afternoon’s press conference that the expectation is for Jackson Arnold to start at quarterback this week against Arkansas. Backup quarterback Ashton Daniels will continue to get reps this week and prepare as the starter, as he has for the last two games. Freeze says this week in practice will ‘go day to day’ before any final decisions are made at quarterback. “Yeah, we’re looking at everything. As well as Jackson played in the first half of the last two games, you have to start looking at everything of, ‘All right, why do we not have the winning ways?’ And sitting here feeling like we do. So, we’re going to get he and [Ashton Daniels] a lot of reps and kind of see where it goes from there.” In the Tigers last two games Arnold has marched Auburn’s offense down the field and scored on its opening drive. However, critical moments have been a struggle for Arnold as he’s failed to lead game-winning drives for Auburn in SEC play this season. Freeze does not plan to redshirt Daniels and is keeping him prepared for when his number is called to start for the Tigers offense. “We’re going to play to win with them. He has prepared to play the last few. If you go watch the game and watch it live, it’s really hard to complain about [Jackson Arnold] in the first half of the last two games, for sure,” Freeze said. “That game could have easily been 14-0 after the second drive and Jackson was playing at a high level. We’ve got to get that consistency throughout the game or we’ve got to go find a spark.” Arnold’s first quarter touchdown run against Missouri marked his 7th rushing touchdown of the season, tying for third in the SEC and the most among quarterbacks in the conference. He also threw his first interception of the season against Missouri and was sacked five times, as Arnold has now been sacked 43 times dating back to last season at Oklahoma. “I would say the expectation is for him to start. He has led us on two scoring drives to start the last two games,” Freeze added. “Hopefully that is what happens in this one also. We’ll go day-to-day, but that’s the expectation.” Auburn will travel to Arkansas this week as both teams are currently winless in the SEC. Kickoff is set for 11:45 a.m. on the SEC Network.
