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Auburn football: Why Zach Calzada is currently seen as the QB1 frontrunner

By Andrew Hughes

Auburn football OC Eric Kiesau had a damning fall camp comment about Zach Calzada, who is no longer viewed as the QB1 favorite Mandatory Credit: The Montgomery Advertiser
Auburn football OC Eric Kiesau had a damning fall camp comment about Zach Calzada, who is no longer viewed as the QB1 favorite Mandatory Credit: The Montgomery Advertiser /
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As the offseason progresses, we are sure to get updates from all over the Auburn football beat about who might be the starting signal-caller come September 3rd when the Tigers host Mercer for the 2022 season’s opening salvo and beyond.

The latest update is one that should placate a large portion of the fanbase but may disappoint other pockets of the Auburn family.

On3’s Cole Pinkston posted a QB race update in a piece titled ‘Next man up: Zach Calzada will emerge as the main QB during fall camp‘. In it, he projects a scenario where whether or not Calzada is named the starter for the opener, the Texas A&M transfer will eventually be QB1.

Here’s Pinkston’s justification for the prediction:

"The bottom line is that he is the best scheme fit and a great personality fit as well. He has the experience in the SEC and had excellent moments. He had better success with accuracy than Finley as well. Calzada is my pick to eventually be the starter even if he doesn’t win the job outright in fall camp."

Some Auburn football fans are convinced Robby Ashford is the answer at QB

Calzada didn’t get the chance to play during the A-Day spring game due to a shoulder injury, but another transfer portal QB showed out to the point of convincing fans that he is the No. 1 option to be Auburn’s quarterback.

Robby Ashford, originally out of Hoover, earned the A-Day offensive MVP award and displayed the dual-threat playmaking ability that could help him evade the monstrous pass-rushes of formidable frontlines from programs like Alabama, Georgia, and Texas A&M to make things happen. With an obvious home-state sentimentality coinciding with Ashford’s QB1 candidacy, many Tiger fans want him to start.

Calzada is still a more popular choice than T.J. Finley, though. Finley will need something heroic to win back many Auburn fans after the 0-3 finish to the 2021 season that gave the Tigers their first losing record since Gene Chizik’s final year on the Plains.

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