RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Ashton Daniels enters the 2026 football season with Florida State football as confident as he's ever been in his career.
The fifth-year signal-caller and Auburn transfer understands his strengths and weaknesses on the football field and feels he's refined his game ahead of a critical season for himself and FSU head coach Mike Norvell .
Daniels attributed his newfound confidence to helping his growth at the quarterback position since arriving in Tallahassee, and that has shown up in various ways, both on and off the field. Both Norvell and quarterbacks coach Austin Tucker said Daniels is making cleaner and more efficient decisions than he was in the spring , and that's allowed the quarterback to play freely.
"I would say confidence. I'm going to continue to say that. You guys are going to hear me say that a lot, but that's been something that's been so huge for me," Daniels said after a practice Norvell called one of his "best days."
"I think, early on in my career, and even early on during the spring, I struggled a little bit just finding that confidence and finding that confidence within my teammates, finding that confidence within myself and who I am as a player and the things that I know that I can do."
It's a positive step for Daniels, who acknowledged that he's had mixed production throughout his collegiate career, particularly with turnovers. In his four seasons, three at Stanford and one at Auburn, he threw 22 interceptions and has 16 fumbles to his name, and it's an area of his game that could define both his and FSU's season.
Daniels said he worked hard to clean up the decision-making that often led to him turning the ball over. Be it throwing the ball away or knowing when to take a sack, he grew from his struggles early in his career and has applied that to his game now.
"Once you realize that you need to take care of the football, which obviously I have from early on in my career and all the experiences and things that I've gone through, that was obviously an issue in my past and something that I really wanted to hone in on and make sure that I sharpen myself in that category," Daniels said.
"I started to do that at the end of the year last year at Auburn. Just continuing to make that an emphasis every single day. As you continue to take care of the football, your decisions start to be a lot quicker. You're getting through your progression faster. You're finding guys open. You're giving them a chance, and you're being more accurate with the football. And I really think it's a domino effect."
While the physical traits are important for a quarterback, which Daniels possesses at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, the mental aspect of the position cannot be overlooked.
The confidence Daniels is playing with has certainly aided his current development, and the overall standing and ceiling of FSU's offense, but how he reacts once the season officially kicks off will be important.
The Seminoles have challenging road trips to Alabama, Miami and Louisville, where the ever-pleasant fans of college football will certainly shower Daniels and his team with pleasantries. How he navigates those environments and performs could be the difference between a competitive road game or a first win away from Doak Campbell Stadium since 2023.
Regardless of external perception, Daniels holds a belief in himself that has allowed him to operate well within the Seminoles' offense. Competing against a defensive line that he said will be the "best in the ACC" every day has pushed him to be better and think quicker, and that's resulted in big plays to the likes of Duce Robinson and Micahi Danzy, who had a "big play" to end practice on Wednesday.
"When I'm not worrying about all the external things and all the outside noise and the distractions, I'm able to pour into my teammates, pour into this team, this offense, everything that I have. I've continued to do that every single day, I believe. I really think that that's helped me build that confidence to where I'm going out there and I'm just playing freely," Daniels said.
"I'm trusting, you know, our line. I'm trusting the concept, trusting our receivers to just give them a chance. They're going to come down with the ball. Um, and that is something that continues to build, and something I hope continues to build during the season."
Florida State football schedule 2026
vs. New Mexico State | Aug. 29
vs. SMU* | Sept. 7
Bye
at Alabama | Sept. 19
vs. Central Arkansas | Sept. 26
vs. Virginia* | Oct. 3
at Louisville* | Oct. 9
at Miami* | Oct. 17
Bye
vs. Clemson* | Oct. 31
at Boston College* | Nov. 7
at Pittsburgh* | Nov. 13
vs. NC State* | Nov. 21
vs. Florida | Nov. 27
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooney .
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU quarterback Ashton Daniels finds his confidence
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