Auburn football fans weren’t exactly proclaiming confidence in TJ Finley following the Tigers’ loss to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl this past December.
Instead, they were worry warts wondering whether War Eagle would return to glory in 2022 with the current QB situation carrying over into next season.
Well, today, there was a different song sung following the Under Armour All-American game. Holden Geriner, an incoming 4-star pro-style QB from Georgia’s AAAA state champs Benedictine Military School, made his mark for the winning squad, Team Icon, in the first half.
Tiger fans took notice and lauded Geriner’s performance, with some comparing him to FSU QB commit AJ Duffy and others having a sad Auburn laugh about AU’s OL troubles:
Auburn QB commit Holden Geriner in to run the 2-minute offense before halftime in his first action of the day in the Under Armour All-American game. Led a FG drive. Couple really nice completions. Couple he’d like to have back. Already getting a taste of those SEC D-lineman.
— Pablo Escobarner (blue chek) (@PabloEscoburner) January 2, 2022
Holden Geriner gets sacked 2x in his first drive at the UA All American game. Just getting ready for Auburn!
— Kyle (@AllAubarn) January 2, 2022
Holden Geriner>>> AJ Duffy
— Austin 🥶 (@AuburnsF00tball) January 2, 2022
Auburn football Class of 2022 signee Holden Geriner has a chance to start at QB
TJ Finley’s struggles in the Birmingham Bowl–particularly in his final two drives overthrowing open receivers–had the LSU transfer posting on his Instagram that offseason improvement was necessary.
If he doesn’t take a step forward and seize the starting job in his third season in the SEC, there’s a chance he can be usurped.
Since we have nothing to go off of to gauge Dematrius Davis’ chance due to DNPs all throughout his red-shirt freshman season, it appears likely that Holden Geriner stands a chance to steal the job in his freshman season since everyone else is years removed from success on the field at this point.