All year long, ever since the end of the 2021 season, Auburn football fans have been itching to know who the Tigers’ starting quarterback will be for head coach Bryan Harsin’s second year on the Plains. Now, game one has come and gone, and the questions surrounding the QB1 position are still running rampant.
The only returner, T.J. Finley, was named the starting quarterback leading up to the season opener, but it was widely expected that Oregon transfer Robby Ashford would see some game action against the Mercer Bears. While most people were hoping to see improvement from and genuinely rooting for Finley heading into the game, the two interceptions are the hot topic and glaring issue from the game.
After the second interception, it was all Robby, all the time. From throwing accurate passes all the way down the field–something Tiger fans have not seen a lot of in recent years–to putting on the jets and sprinting to make a fantastic block during Tank Bigsby’s touchdown run, Ashford was nothing short of a breath of fresh air.
Heading into game two, Harsin remains firm in the fact that Finley is the starter, but the reality seems to be that Ashford is creeping up on Finley in the depth chart. Does Finley get one more game to prove himself before Ashford is named QB1? Or does Harsin utilize an old friend of his, the two-quarterback system?
Harsin went with two quarterbacks at Boise State in 2019 and the Broncos ended the season as conference champions. While the Mountain West is absolutely not the SEC, using multiple quarterbacks is an idea that Harsin has not shied away from in the past.
When he pulled Bo Nix in the Georgia State game last season, Harsin proved that he is not about playing favorites or above hurting feelings when it comes to the success of the team. With one more game between Auburn football and Penn State, Finley better stay on his toes if he expects to keep the QB1 job out of Robby Ashford’s hands.