Tank Bigsby on Zach Calzada: ‘You want to play with somebody that got that dog in him’

Tank Bigsby evoked perhaps one of the best memes of the entire college football offseason when he said about third-year Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada that he ‘wants to play with somebody that got that dog in him’ (h/t AL.com)

Calzada has fallen far from the status of heavy favorite for the starting quarterback job, having T.J. Finley ultimately keep the starting job he was thrust into once Bo Nix went down (and ultimately out) in his last game on the Plains against Mississippi State last November.

Robby Ashford surprisingly ended up ahead of him–or, if Bryan Harsin’s plan was always to mix in a dual-threat, unsurprisingly–and now he must fight to get back in the mix before Penn State comes to town.

Bigsby will be the focal point of the platoon set to be the focus of the offense, so that endorsement is critical for Calzada. The coaching staff has left open the opportunity for someone to claim the QB1 spot, so it’s Calzada’s to claim if he could throughout the FCS/Group of Five early Weeks 1&2 matchups.

Zach Calzada got injured playing Auburn last November

As future Auburn’s luck (or lack of) would have it, Zach Calzada injured his non-throwing shoulder with Smoke Monday hitting him hard and setting the Aggie up for late-season losses. Tank Bigsby backed him up big-time, crediting Calzada as a John Cena-esque figure:

"“And he didn’t back down, he didn’t give up, he didn’t quit. I’d rather play with somebody that doesn’t want to quit all the time.”"

With the focus being on the run game, the guy who nabs the highlights and manages his minutes best will be the one opposing the Nittany Lions of PSU come Week 3 of the 2022 college football season.