Auburn football: 3 surprise backups that could end up starting in 2021

Auburn football is as far away now as it is ever going to seem. The collegiate seasons across the NCAA are concluding, with the college baseball world series being the last remaining championship tournament to conclude.

It’s a tough time to be a college sports fan.

July will get even tougher, with Omaha being vacated by the best teams in the country, but the allure of everything that an SEC football season entails will be rapidly approaching come August ahead of the September 4th, 6 pm opener against Akron at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The Tigers have several camp battles to settle, and it is clear that Bryan Harsin and co. want the best player at every position. Whatever happened before won’t matter this summer. The guy who wants it the most will be the one taking snaps with the first unit in the fall.

Which surprise backups may end up in the conversation for a starting position?

Let’s take a look:

Surprise Auburn football backup that could start in 2021 #1: TJ Finley

The conversation for shock starters for the Tigers begins and ends with the addition of TJ Finley to the QB room this past May.

Many fans and pundits are torn on whether or not the former LSU surprise starter in 2020–back then due to an injury to starter Myles Brennan–can once again claim the starting role. This time, it would be because he outgunned Bo Nix over the summer in camp. Can he make such a major jump from his 2020 campaign as to unseat the incumbent legacy signal-caller?

Well, he came to the Plains to start, so he expects himself to.