FSU pulled off a stunner by settling on the former Auburn and Stanford QB. But the Seminoles' GM revealed why they targeted him.
Florida State football needed star power behind center to ignite a restless fanbase.
Ashton Daniels, however, wasn't considered the most trendiest or high-profile QB available. FSU still landed him via the College Football Transfer Portal...which still drew out critics.
Daniels played sparingly at Auburn and also was part of a QB rotation at Stanford -- two floundering programs. So what did FSU general manager John Garrett see in Daniels to convince him that Daniels is the right guy to lead this offense.
Garrett broke his silence with Noles247 about the decision.
"It was a real interesting and fun evaluation with quarterbacks. Initially, big picture, you have to decide okay, am I going to be in the market for those guys that are really expensive. We decided no, we don't need to do that," Garrett began.
Another words, Garrett didn't want to break the bank on the NIL front.
"But we need to bring in a good quality quarterback of value," Garrett added. "His career lends to that."
Daniels' overall record as a starter (3-8 overall) became a non-issue for Garrett, head coach Mike Norvell and the rest of the Seminoles coaching staff.
"He's a multi-game starter at two places, two Power Four schools," Garrett said.
He then shared Daniels' two biggest traits they found.
"Really good leadership and character," he said. "The vetting that we did to determine that is really important at that position. It's something that we needed here at Florida State. Needed to be the right kind of guy, right kind of leader and certainly a talented enough player. When we brought him in."
Garrett additionally felt Daniels brings value for the FSU RPO offense that Norvell will soon call plays for in the retirement of Gus Malzahn.
"Those things were all validated: leadership, ability, style for our offense," Garrett said. "A lot of things were vetted and then validated when he came here."
Garrett isn't shy about his confidence for the newest projected QB1 for the Noles.
"We felt really good about how we got him and the value we placed on him. Really felt like we got good value for his ability and skillset," Garrett said.
Daniels will head back to the ACC for the second time in three seasons. He previously played for Stanford during its transition out of the Pac-12 in 2024.
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