Auburn football: SI ranks Zach Calzada as top 2022 transfer portal addition

Auburn football QB Zach Calzada was honored by Sports Illustrated’s Auburn fan-site ‘Auburn Daily’ as the top transfer portal addition the Tigers made during the 2022 offseason.

AD’s Andrew Stefaniak called it ‘no surprise’ that Calzada topped the list:

"“No surprise Calzada is atop this list as he projects to be Auburn’s starting quarterback in 2022. He put up decent numbers at Texas A&M in 2021 but definitely has some room to improve. Last season at A&M, Calzada beat Auburn’s rival, the Crimson Tide of Alabama. This shows that he can perform on a big stage. Calzada is a very gritty player, and he will have a great season at the helm of the Auburn offense.”"

Auburn football lost more talent than they gained in the transfer portal

The key ingredient to the Tigers’ success in 2022 will be an improved culture and a reliance on the upperclassmen that have returned on both the offensive and defensive trenches.

It’s arguable that the pure talent level will actually drop this coming season, with current Oregon QB1 Bo Nix being the highest-rated QB recruit in Auburn football history and UCF plucking the highly-rated out of high school duo of Lee Hunter/Kobe Hudson in the portal. Not to mention, on a more micro-scale, the secondary–even with Stefaniak’s No. 2 entry CB DJ James (via Oregon) and No. 3 entry S Craig McDonald (via Iowa State)–may have dropped in talent level as well.

As we know, though, how many stars 247Sports gives you doesn’t determine your talent level. If it did, the Longhorns would’ve been more relevant the last decade and Alabama would be CFP National Champions every season.

If Bryan Harsin has gotten through to this current group, 2022 could be far more successful than what pundits are projecting it to be. Should that scenario manifest into reality, it’s possible that Calzada is credited with reviving the position at T.J. Finley’s (and No. 7 entry Robby Ashford’s) expense.