Auburn football: What a TJ Finley backup QB role looks like

Every Auburn football fan has the same question when it comes to the Tigers’ offense in the 2022 season: Who is going to be the starting quarterback? Following Bo Nix’s departure, TJ Finley and Dematrius Davis were left on the Tigers’ roster, but they were quickly joined by former Texas A&M Aggie Zach Calzada, former Oregon Duck Robby Ashford, and incoming freshman Holden Geriner.

Now, with Dee Davis having hit the transfer portal, head coach Bryan Harsin and offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau are left with four quarterbacks vying for the role of QB1. For a long time, it seemed as though TJ Finley was the obvious answer as to who would take the reins of Auburn football’s offense as the QB with the most experience actually playing with the offense.

However, the new additions to the QB room are hot on his heels, and according to AL.com, Bryan Harsin noted that Finley is emerging as a leader for his teammates rather than being angry about the competition:

"“He knows that position needs to play well for our offense to be successful, and for our team,” Harsin said. “And he also, like I said before, I mean, he’s got a good feel out there, but he’s also helping the other guys at his position, too.…They’re competing for a spot, but they’re still teammates, and I think T.J. has got a good understanding of that. Like, ‘Look, these are my teammates. We want to put the best guy out there. I want to be the best guy, but we’ve got to have the best guy on the field, and we need to know these things so our offense can operate.’”"

While Finley clearly wants to be QB1 for Auburn football, he has also acknowledged that he has work to do to improve his game and that at the end of the day, the best guy for the job is going to be the one that hits the field come fall.