FSU QB Ashton Daniels Must Improve After Inconsistent Debut

Ashton Daniels stepped onto the field in a sold-out Doak Campbell Stadium for the first time on Saturday night. There has been plenty of anticipation surrounding Daniels' debut since he transferred to Florida State back in January.

No one really knew what to expect. Daniels was mostly inconsistent during his time at Stanford, but showed some real flashes in limited action at Auburn last year. The coaching staff and players on the roster were pretty high on his performance during the preseason.

Just a few days ago, star wide receiver Duce Robinson lauded Daniels for his accuracy.

The fifth-year quarterback jumped out to a solid start. On the first drive, he delivered his best throw of the evening, a shot down the seam to Micahi Danzy for 44 yards to convert on third and long. Later in the opening frame, he connected with Samuel Singleton Jr. for a 35-yard gain. Daniels also had a well-placed pass to Robinson on the sideline.

However, Daniels was picked off in the second quarter while trying to fit a pass into an impossible window to Chase Loftin. Truthfully, he should've thrown the ball away or just tucked it. The decision seemed to impact him for the remainder of the game.

After compiling 107 passing yards in the first quarter, Daniels only threw for 95 yards over the final three quarters, despite playing every snap on offense.

Florida State is counting on him to improve with SMU waiting around the corner.

Good And Bad For Ashton Daniels In FSU's First Game

Not everything was on Daniels. The offensive line had a couple of breakdowns that resulted in six pressures and a sack.

In some of those moments, Daniels was under control. In others, he was late to react or forced the issue, leading to negative plays.

Head coach Mike Norvell saw positive takeaways, and aspects that need improvement. He wants Daniels to be more willing to utilize his athleticism.

"I thought there was some good and bad with all of it," Norvell said. "With Ashton, he's got the ability to extend plays, and that's something that's going to be a great strength for him on the interception. Obviously, when it happened, he was extremely disappointed in the decision that he made, but, there's something that we get to grow from, just in his ownership of the down, where that was."

"There's times we're going to be really aggressive in it, and then obviously times that maybe the throwaway or the run is a better option," Norvell added. "But he handled himself really well in that, and I thought that being able to get the ball to the backs. They tried to eliminate a lot of the vertical shot game, so we had to work through different progressions."

Florida State is going to challenge Daniels to improve over the next week. He's got to be at his best and feel confident if the Seminoles are going to have a shot at upsetting SMU.

"All-in-all, I thought he did what he needed to do, but still a lot of areas where he's going to be able to take a step here as we go into this next week," Norvell said.

Daniels finished 17/27 for 202 yards with 1 touchdown to 1 interception. He rushed 8 times for 30 yards and another score.

Daniels Blessed To Play In Doak, Turning Page To SMU

With a lot of pressure on his shoulders, Daniels deserves credit for saying all of the right things and earning the respect of his teammates.

That continued after his first experience in Doak Campbell Stadium, where he reflected on the raucous environment.

"Just so blessed to be here," Daniels said. "Just the opportunity to be at this amazing school, it's something I'll never take for granted and being able to go out there and see the crowd, and the War Chant, and all of it, I mean, it was just phenomenal. It's all I could have ever asked for."

Moving forward, Daniels and the rest of the Seminoles will dissect the tape and figure out where they need to get better.

A ranked opponent is headed to town. As much as Florida State wants to take down SMU on Labor Day, the team has to prepare at an elite level each day leading up to the game.

"I think we just take it one day at a time," Daniels said. "It starts with tomorrow [Sunday], just coming in, taking care of our bodies, getting a chance to watch this game, and getting an early look at SMU. You can't sit there and just think about next Monday, and just stress about that game. You have to take it one day at a time."

"Obviously, we're going to watch this film, and we're going to find the things that we need to build on, that we need to learn and grow from," Daniels added. "I think our coaching staff does a phenomenal job of finding those things out and then actually putting that into practice. We're going in practice and fixing those mistakes. We're building on it, and then we're also able to continue to game plan for SMU."

Florida State is happy to be 1-0 but now the page is turning to the Mustangs.

"I think the guys, like we're excited, we're fired up," Daniels said. "We're 1-0, it's hard to win in college football, no matter who you're playing, but we stuck through it. We fought tonight, and we got the win. Obviously, now the focus goes to SMU."

Florida State opens ACC play against SMU on Monday, September 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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