Could Stanford Football Look to Reunite with Former Quarterback?

Vast changes are about to happen throughout college football. While the College Football Playoff and bowl season rages on, the start of the transfer portal window looms large, meaning that many players are already announcing their intentions to enter the portal.

One position that has seen arguably the most changes thus far is quarterback, where numerous big name talents have put their names in, including Florida's DJ Lagway, Old Dominion's Colton Joseph and Boston College's Dylan Lonergan.

Early on Sunday, Dec. 21, Auburn quarterback Ashton Daniels added his name to the list of transfer portal quarterbacks, with On3 Sports recruiting insider Hayes Fawcett reporting that Daniels plans to enter his name in the portal, putting him in line to land at his third school for his final season of eligibility.

With Stanford football needing to find a quarterback this season, could Daniels be in play to go back to the school where he started his college career?

Committing to Stanford out of high school, the former three-star recruit spent the first three seasons of his career on The Farm. Spending his true freshman campaign in 2022 as the backup to Tanner McKee, appearing in Wildcat formations, Daniels was Stanford's primary starter in the 2023 and '24 seasons.

But in two seasons as the starter, Daniels struggled, guiding the Cardinal to a 2-8 record in 2023 and a 3-7 record in 2024. In both of those seasons, Daniels struggled with consistency, ending his final season on The Farm with 10 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.

But in Daniels' first season on The Farm before becoming the starting quarterback, he had new head coach Tavita Pritchard as his offensive coordinator. By the time Daniels took over the reins, Pritchard departed to serve as the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders while head coach David Shaw was replaced by Troy Taylor, forcing Daniels to adjust to a whole new regime while adjusting to his new role.

Now that Pritchard is back, Stanford could be an enticing option for Daniels, considering that he could reunite with the coach that recruited him in the first place.

Throughout his time both at Stanford and with the Commanders, Pritchard developed an elite reputation for developing quarterbacks. If Daniels is looking for a place where he can get an opportunity to start while also wanting to develop into an NFL talent, rejoining Pritchard on The Farm is not a bad move.

In terms of scheme fit, Daniels in Pritchard's scheme could be a match made in heaven. While he did not run the offense for the Commanders, Pritchard not only helped elevate the offense into a championship caliber unit, but he also played a pivotal role in the development of Jayden Daniels, a quarterback known for his dual-threat abilities.

Daniels, who had over 1,000 rushing yards in his college career, is the type of quarterback that Pritchard could look to add for his scheme.

Players may be making their intentions known now, but the transfer portal does not officially open until Jan. 2, meaning that Stanford fans will need to wait a little longer to see which players the program adds.

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