Jake Crain: Neither T.J. Finley nor Zach Calzada are elite options for Auburn football
Auburn football lacks an elite option under center in 2022, this according to Jake Crain of Crain & Company. Crain was referring to second-year transfer out of LSU T.J. Finley and first-year transfer Zach Calzada out of Texas A&M.
For the longest time this offseason, Calzada was pinned down to be the definite starter for the Tigers under center in 2022 — even being referred to as a ‘heavy favorite‘ by On3’s Justin Hokanson.
This past Saturday, though, Calzada was said to have struggled according to those inside the stadium. Auburn football HC Bryan Harsin referred to Calzada as merely ‘solid’ but went on about how Finley was exhibiting characteristics of a leader.
Tiger fans were predictably worried about the prospect of Finley being the starter following the 0-3 finish to last season with the six-foot-seven signal-caller leading the offense. As Crain says, if you’re arguing for either Finley or Calzada, you’re arguing against the same thing:
People arguing TJ Finley vs Calzada need to know there isn’t much difference. Both will play. Neither is elite imo.
— Jake “JBOY” Crain (@JakeCrain_) August 15, 2022
Robby Ashford is the new Auburn football QB darling
The third realistic option to start under center for the Tigers in 2022 (sorry Holden Geriner) is Oregon transfer Robby Ashford, who redshirted his first two seasons under Mario Cristobal in Eugene.
Ashford was the offensive MVP during A-Day and has impressed AU HC Bryan Harsin with his breakneck speed in fall camp. He represents the biggest wild-card in the QB room and arguably gives the Tigers their highest ceiling considering the limited skillsets of his competition.
Now that the Alabama-slayer Zach Calzada has proven that his other relatively modest stat-lines from a season ago may be indicative of his abilities, Ashford is now the de facto darling in the bunch.
In reality, anyone with a realistic chance to start not named T.J. Finley will be a darling, but if he can shake his mid-game yips–he’s a stud in practice but psyches himself up too much for games–every Tiger fan should embrace the guy that won the QB battle fair and square.