Who will be QB1 for Auburn Football in 2022?

Year 1 under Bryan Harsin ended with a 6-7 record, but it has been an extremely busy offseason thus far on the Plains for Auburn Football. Since the end of the 2021 season, the Tigers have lost 14 players to the transfer portal and added four major contributors from the portal as well.

After Bo Nix announced his intentions to transfer to Oregon, the Tigers knew that had to address the QB position this offseason to add much needed depth and competition to a room that totaled 8 starts between the returning players. The Tigers have added three new faces to go along with TJ Finley & Dematrius Davis in the QB room this offseason.

Now the question will be which one of these talented QBs will lead the Tigers into their Week 1 matchup against Mercer on September 3rd this fall. We breakdown the Tigers’ QB room as of January and give our take on who will take the first snaps of the 2022 season.

Auburn football QB option #1: TJ Finley (Jr.)

The top returning contributor for the Tigers will be TJ Finley, who started the final three games of the 2021 season and went 0-3 as the starting QB for Auburn Football. Finley saw action in nine games last season and threw for 827 passing yards, 11 TDs, & 1 INT; including his game-winning touchdown pass against Georgia State.

Finley will have the advantage of being in the system for an extra year compared to some of his competition and he has 8 starts in the SEC between his time at LSU and Auburn last season. He has the size, arm strength, & experience to be a real factor in this competition; but many Auburn fans question whether Finley can be a SEC Championship QB after seeing him struggle against teams such as Houston and South Carolina.

Auburn football QB option #2: Dematrius Davis (RFr.)

Davis is going to be the fan-favorite to be QB1 for the 2022 Auburn Tigers, which is tied to his major success on the Texas High School football circuit. Davis threw for over 9,000 yards, 120 TDs, & almost 50 rushing TDs over his three years as the starter at North Shore High School. Davis also won two Texas High School state championships as the starter and was the MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year in 2018.

If the Tigers are looking for the most athletic option, then Davis is the easy choice due to his 4.8 speed and ability to make plays happen outside of the pocket. He has had a year to adjust to the college lifestyle and adapt to the Auburn program as he redshirted last season.

Now it is up to Davis to gel in the new offensive scheme under Austin Davis, because adapting the quickest could give Davis a huge advantage in this QB battle.

Auburn football QB option #3: Holden Geriner (Fr.)

This could the long-term option for the Tigers, but in this age of college football it would shock nobody if Holden Geriner came in and stole the QB1 position on the Plains. Geriner is an Elite 11 prospect that has thrown for over 4000 yards, 39 TDs, & rushed for seven TDs in his two seasons at Benedictine Military School.

Geriner is the first high school QB that Bryan Harsin has brought to the Plains and he comes in with a strong 4-star rankings, which has the fans’ expectations extremely high. One of the biggest criticisms of Gus Malzahn was his lack of ability to develop a QB at Auburn, so this will be a huge test for Harsin and this offensive staff. Geriner is going to be the dark horse candidate, but do not count out the talented freshman.

Auburn football QB option #4: Zach Calzada (Jr.)

One of the biggest transfer portal pickups of the offseason came in the form of Zach Calzada, who transferred from Texas A&M after the 2021 season and chose to continue his career on the Plains. Calzada was the starting QB for the Aggies after Haynes King suffered a season-ending injury and led the Aggies to an 8-4 record, including a huge upset win over #1 Alabama.

Calzada has proven his worth throughout the 2021 season and brings much needed experience to the Auburn QB room for the next few seasons. He will be one of the favorites to be the lead signal caller for the Tigers due to his performance last season, but he will need to show the ability to build upon his great breakout season.

Auburn football QB option #5: Robby Ashford (RSo.)

The most recent addition to the QB room was Oregon football transfer Robby Ashford, who was a star QB at Hoover High School before committing to the Ducks. Ashford was a 4-star prospect in the 2020 class and was selected to participate in the Under Armour All-American Game and Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game that season as well.

Ashford redshirted his first season for the Ducks, but saw over 20 games as a baseball player that season and did not see any action this past season as Ty Thompson and Jay Butterfield handled backup duties for Anthony Brown.

Ashford is a major unknown in this QB race, but brings a lot of potential based on his high school performances. He is going to have to show that he can overcome a new system and limited college experience to pull the upset and lead the Tigers into the 2022 season.