Auburn football: Phil Steele says Tigers ‘need Zach Calzada or TJ Finley to step up’

There are many questions to be answered about the Auburn football team heading into the 2022 season. Will second-year head coach Bryan Harsin find more success than last fall with his new coaching staff? Who will be declared the new WR1? And, most pressing of all, who will be the Tigers’ starting quarterback come September?

It is incredibly important that Auburn football plays well in 2022. Not only will it give recruiting a major boost, but it will also inject some stability into the coaching staff and the idea that they will still be around after the upcoming season.

According to Phil Steele, the road to the Tigers’ success will have to be paved by the quarterback, whether it’s Zach Calzada or TJ Finley, per Saturday Down South:

"“The key is going to be quarterback play. They need [Zach] Calzada or [TJ] Finley to step up and do well, but they’ve got outstanding running backs. The defense is strong,” Steele said. “I see them winning their first five games this year– Mercer, San Jose State, Penn State, Missouri, and LSU all at home the majority of them.”"

Despite the coaching staff’s high praise for Finley’s work ethic on and off the field, most fans are opposed to naming him the starter after his performances at the tail end of the 2021 season. In addition, many assumed that when Zach Calzada’s transfer from Texas A&M was finalized that he would earn the QB1 role without a doubt.

For now, Bryan Harsin and the rest of the staff are staying pretty tight-lipped about the quarterback competition and player standings, but there will undoubtedly be a lot of pressure on the shoulders of whoever is chosen to lead the Tigers’ offense.

Whether fans like it or not, TJ Finley can not be counted out as the potential starter on the Plains in September.