Auburn football fans will be filling the bleachers at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time in 2022 on Saturday afternoon for the annual A-Day spring game.
The Tigers have a ton to sort out ahead of the 2022 slate. Today’s orange and blue scrimmage will be the first glimpse into how several impact transfers will fit into the grand scheme of things in Bryan Harsin’s coaching staff’s system.
The action starts at 1 P.M. central and will be broadcast on ESPN+/SECN+. It’s expected to be in the mid-50s and partly cloudy on the Plains.
Let’s get into it. Here are 5 things to look out for during the Auburn football A-Day spring game:
The Auburn football Week 1 QB starter might not even be playing during A-Day
First-team snaps for Auburn football on Saturday will be taken by T.J. Finley. Given the sour taste in the mouths of Tiger fans last year, Finley has some pressure to make accurate throws and show off the arm that got him scholarships at SEC powerhouses LSU and Auburn.
The second QB that’ll hit the Pat Dye Field turf will be former Hoover Buc Robby Ashford. An Oregon transfer that has yet to take a snap the past two years playing for Mario Cristobal’s Ducks, Ashford will have plenty of Birmingham area fans in the JHS stands that will be in his corner. Freshman Holden Geriner will get the remaining snaps.
It’ll be important to monitor how each signal-caller responds to live-time action in front of a crowd, but it’s also possible that the starter against Mercer Week 1 isn’t even in uniform on Saturday. Zach Calzada, the Texas A&M starter for most of their 8-4 2021 campaign, is still recovering from a shoulder injury.
With the QB battle projected to spill into the summer, Calzada has a chance to be named the starter without stepping foot on the field at A-Day.
Auburn football RB snaps may be distributed between several backs
Remember on Saturday that whatever you see out of the Auburn RB room, it’s not 100% of the possible contributions. Jarquez Hunter will be missing A-Day and the rest of spring practice recovering from a knee injury.
That said, it appears that Sean Jackson and Jordon Ingram will be getting plenty of burn behind Tank Bigsby. It’s important to know that Bigsby lost momentum last season, and having more depth could only help preserve his body for the long haul.
Saturday’s exhibition will be a bad example for how the team’s backs will handle the physicality of an SEC schedule. Still, it could give us an idea of how Bryan Harsin plans on divvying up rushes in the backfield.
Auburn football WRs have the chance to put their names on the map
There is plenty of room for one of the Tiger wideouts to stick their metaphorical flag in the dirt as a possible big-play option in 2022.
What’s lacking in the AU WR room are proven players with experience in the nation’s toughest conference, but A-Day is a good chance for someone to show that they will do what it takes to carry their portion of the offense in battle.
All it takes is one deep-ball, one slant route to turn into a score. Then there’s a different narrative for a perceived position of weakness for Auburn.
WR/TE hybrid Landen King is our pick to impress the most on Saturday from the Tigers WR room.
Derick Hall, Eku Leota, and Dylan Brooks need to hold down the EDGE position
Whenever the Tigers hit the transfer portal next, the EDGE position could be a position of need. And it’s certainly not because of the talent level for the incumbents:
"“We understand how critical that position is, especially with a versatile defense,” Auburn football DC Jeff Schmedding said. “Derick Hall, Eku Leota and Dylan Brooks are the primary guys right now… but we’re not waiting around to solve that depth problem. We’re out actively seeking it.”"
The reason why Auburn football needs to add firepower along the defensive front via the transfer portal is because of the stark drop-off after Eku Leota, Derrick Hall, and Dylan Brooks on the depth chart.
On Saturday, these three need to show out as much as humanly possible–in a far-from-full-contact scrimmage at least–because of the dearth of other options.
How will Auburn football overcome the losses in the secondary?
Smoke Monday, Roger McCreary, Ladarius Tennison, Bydarrius Knighten and Ro Torrence are all gone via the NFL Draft, graduation, and/or the transfer portal.
It’ll be on guys like Nehemiah Pritchett, Zion Puckett, and Donovan Kaufman to step up as experienced in-house options, but don’t write off the potential contributions from newcomers like Marquis Gilbert and D.J. James.
They’ll have their first chance to make Tiger fans worry about their WR corps on Saturday afternoon.