STANFORD UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 23, 2023

Ashton Daniels

Postgame Media Conference

Arizona - 21, Stanford - 20

Q. Ashton, just kind of talk about, I think it's four games through if I'm counting correctly. Just talk about what it's like kind of switching back and forth between Justin. How is that dynamic working for both of you, do you think?

ASHTON DANIELS: I think it is working well. Coach Taylor obviously has some experience doing that (switching between quarterbacks) at Sacramento State and he knows what he is doing. And I think, overall, coming out tonight, we looked better as an offense. I think we operated fairly well in all the different aspects, the passing game, rushing but of course we have some things to work on.

Q. What did Coach Taylor tell you guys after the game?

ASHTON DANIELS: He said that overall we looked much better than we have in recent weeks. I think we did a great job. We had a lot of effort out there. We played with a lot of passion, but it's really just about cleaning up the small things. We had penalties. We had missed conversions on third downs and just, I think if we clean up the small things, it's going to push us towards the team we want to be.

Overall, it's a one-game season.

Q. You mentioned moving on to Oregon. It seems like a tougher opponent, at least on paper, than you had this week. How do you keep this from kind of steamrolling, this losing streak that you're on?

ASHTON DANIELS: Yeah, like I said, we have to flush it. We have 24 hours. You can be upset, all that stuff, but come Sunday, when we come in for meetings and we come in for lift, we know that we're going to flush what happened last week. We're going to forget about it because, like I said, we play one-game seasons.

We know that there's a big opportunity and a big task ahead. So, yeah, we're just going to focus on that.

Q. You guys have won a game already this year, but after losing to Sac State last week like you did, to have this be a one possession game, one point game, did it feel like there was progress that was made this week even though you guys didn't get the W?

ASHTON DANIELS: Yeah, 100 percent, there was progress. Our defense went out, and they played lights out. They gave us the opportunity to go down and score, and offensively I think we missed out on some of those opportunities, whether it be misreads, missed blocks, all of that stuff.

I think we can play better as an offense, and when we start clicking and getting rolling, I think it's going to be pretty hard to stop our offense. But, yeah, if we come out and play well and stick together on all three phases, then I think we're going to be hard to beat.

Q. I think some media people and some fans would say it must be tough to alternate at quarterback. How would you say that it's easier than people perceive it to be?

ASHTON DANIELS: I think, when you're in that mindset of you just want to go out there and you want to win and you want to do your job, it just makes it easier.

I know that Justin's going to go out there, and he's going to do his job, which leaves it up to me to go out there and do my job. If we're both clicking and we're both rolling, our offense is going to roll.

There's nothing to sulk about. I don't worry about all the missed plays or I'm not getting enough time. I don't worry about all that because I know that Coach Taylor has the right formula, and he's going to help us get the job done.

Q. It's not just the quarterback. He rotates punters. It seems like Sedrick got the start over E.J. and Casey. It seems like all the positions are rotating through. What's it like to be on a team where there's no set starters, it seems like?

ASHTON DANIELS: It's kind of fluid every week. I think our guys understand that, and they don't complain about it, which you go some places and someone starts the week previous and they don't start this week, they get upset, and that causes division within the team.

I think our guys are very experienced and they're mature, and they know no matter what they're going to get the chance to go out there and they're going to have opportunities. I think our guys know that, and that's what helps us stick together no matter who's out there starting or not.

Q. Just want to get your thoughts on Tiger Bachmeier. He did have a drop in the end zone, but he made up for it with some really nice catches and plays. Talk about what you guys got from him and what you've seen from him so far since he's a true freshman.

ASHTON DANIELS: He's a young guy. Obviously he's going to have his mistakes, but you can see his maturity because of the way he goes out there and he bounces back. He drops one, and then he goes and makes an amazing play that leads us to go down and score a touchdown.

Just being that young and being able to flush something like that and still go out and play the way that he did is extremely impressive. It gives me, as well as Justin and our whole offensive staff, just hope and confidence that we know that we have a guy that we can rely on.

Q. What was it like having Sedrick back there too? How would you kind of evaluate his performance?

ASHTON DANIELS: Sedrick, he's an animal. He's going to go out there, and he's going to get the job done. He's got a huge heart for the game. He loves to win, and I know that he's going to go out there and do his job.

He's a young cat too, but I feel very comfortable giving him the ball because I know he's going to go make a play.

Q. On Sedrick, he had a helluva step on there for that 40-yard plus run. I'm not sure he had that kind of style. Is that what you've seen, that strength to push off guys like that?

ASHTON DANIELS: Yeah, ever since he came in, we've seen his strength and speed. Through the off-season, fall camp, we saw what he could do, and we knew that we had someone special. We were extremely lucky to get him.

He's going to continue to make plays in the future for this program, and I can't wait to see that.