With A-Day officially a little over a month and a week away, the 2022 Auburn football program is starting to prepare for a critical second season under Bryan Harsin.
Year one was not the start many wanted to see, reaching the low end of projections ahead of their 2021 campaign. It’s a talking point akin to the process of grape treading by this point in the offseason, but it’s a reality that hovers over the team’s success this upcoming season.
AL.com’s Tom Green revealed the inside scoop on the team’s quarterback position in his latest piece, and it may upset Tiger fans who have a sour taste in their mouth from this past season’s final month.
Auburn football’s first-team reps are currently being projected to T.J. Finley, the most experienced QB with Harsin’s playbook in live-time situations:
"Finley is expected to open spring as the first quarterback to get first-team reps after he finished last season as the team’s starter following Nix’s season-ending ankle injury."
Apparently, Zach Calzada is looking like he’ll be QB2:
"Finley’s chief competition may be Calzada, who transferred from Texas A&M back in January. Calzada was targeted by Austin Davis shortly after Davis took over as offensive coordinator, and he stuck with Auburn even after Davis’ sudden resignation in late January. Calzada, like Finley, fits the mold of what Harsin looks for physically in a quarterback — a big-bodied pocket-passer with a bigger arm to run a pro-style system."
Auburn football looks set to rely on a junior QB
Green’s blurb regarding Dematrius Davis centered around him not fitting the mold of a Bryan Harsin QB. Holden Geriner was the final name mentioned, and he was given an outside shot of winning considering Bo Nix’s own win in 2019 as a true freshman. That said, his true freshman status was the lede of the Geriner section.
Green said Robby Ashford has a prototypical build, seemingly implying that he has more of a shot at winning the job. Coupled with Finley’s expected first-team status and Calzada expected to be the primary competitor under center, a junior looks likely to lead Auburn’s offense this year.