Perhaps the Auburn football QB situation isn’t as settled as it seems.
Andy Graham of the Alexander City Outlook, a twice-weekly newspaper publication in Eastern Alabama, said that ‘as of today, Auburn football has three true contenders at quarterback who will battle it out during fall practice to see who becomes the leader of the team.’
Graham added that ‘whoever wins the job could very well be spectacular and I desperately hope they will be, but it’s a complete unknown at the moment.’
Zach Calzada is the odds-on favorite to be Auburn football’s QB1
Zach Calzada had the second-highest Heisman odds of any player on the Tigers, giving a pretty good indication of who Las Vegas sees Bryan Harsin and co. choosing as Auburn’s starting signal-caller for the 2022 season. Tank Bigsby (+6000) is above Calzada (+10000) but significantly below the likes of UAT’s reigning Heisman winner Bryce Young (+350). Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud (+230) is the odds-on favorite.
Calzada has the most successful SEC experience of the bunch, having knocked off Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide last season, albeit within the friendly confines of Kyle Field. He’s been flashing his accuracy and zip this summer working with former FCS National Champion with the Youngstown State Penguins, Ray Isaac, who recently praised his football IQ and mental/physical toughness.
At this point, it’d be a shocker to see anyone else under center on September 3rd under the Saturday night lights at Jordan-Hare Stadium when the Tigers host the Mercer Bears in the 2022 season opener.
T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford provide much-needed depth in case of a re-injury of Zach Calzada’s shoulder
The SEC is a scary place to be a quarterback considering the monstrous defensive lines every single team has. Auburn football had one of those and terrorized former Aggie Zach Calzada last year, injuring his non-throwing shoulder during a 20-3 Texas A&M victory.
Should Calzada suffer an injury of any kind, T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford provide higher ceilings as backups than what Gus Malzahn had in his final season back during the pandemic-stricken 2020 season. No offense to Grant Loy and Cord Sandberg.
Ashford was the star of A-Day on the offensive end, while Finley had the most passing yards and a TD to his name. Of course, some fans would prefer to never see Finley start another game for the Tigers.
Either way, the QB situation is fluid to a degree, but Calzada should be seen as the clear-cut favorite to be QB1.