Auburn football: Evaluating Spencer Sanders as a transfer QB

Bryan Harsin’s firing just two days following a loss to Arkansas marked the beginning of a new era for Auburn football. With recruiting in the dumps and the offense being unbearably impossible to watch ever since Bo Nix went down late in 2021, something needed to change. Insert Hugh Freeze and Co.

With two highly experienced coordinators in tow and a bevy of young, energetic recruiters filling the positional staff, Auburn has soared from the mid 50s before Early Signing Day to inside the top 20 with National Signing Day still looming. Only one thing is left to really solidify Freeze’s first recruiting class: a quarterback.

It is almost universally understood amongst Auburn football fans that Robby Ashford isn’t going to just be handed the job. With both Freeze and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery preferring passing quarterbacks first, an experienced QB whose arm is on tape is a must. This is where one Spencer Sanders comes into play.

Spencer Sanders’s Skillset

Sanders has a fairly live arm. While not Matthew Stafford, he can sufficiently take the top off of a defense when receivers get open. He makes up for his lower completion percentage by having a higher yards per completion. While not the most accurate passer, he has the physical tools to become a skilled quarterback in an RPO based spread attack like the one that Auburn will be showcasing.

In the running game, Sanders is incredibly skilled in both the designed run game (QB draw, QB power/counter) and the option game (zone read, speed option, RPO). That is where Sanders becomes an interesting fit for Montgomery and Freeze. Freeze’s quarterbacks have been either first or second in rushing attempts in all but two seasons as a head coach. Montgomery notably coached Robert Griffin III and Nick Florence, who were outstanding runners at the position.

Spencer Sander’s fit with Auburn football

While Sanders has not been a Heisman contender during his time at Oklahoma State, he has been a fairly steady contributor at the quarterback position. 4 seasons of at least 2,000 yards, with over 2,600 yards over each of the last two seasons, is much more of what Freeze and Montgomery are looking for.

Sanders has played all four seasons in Mike Gundy’s version of the Leach air raid offense. Under two offensive coordinators (current Rutgers OC Sean Gleeson and current Oklahoma State OC Kasey Dunn), the offense has trended less toward the power run/deep ball game that former OC Mike Yurcich installed and more towards a slower paced spread to run offense. This has both helped and hurt Sanders.

Under Freeze and Montgomery, Sanders would certainly be asked to do much more with his arm than he was at Oklahoma State. There, he was replacing Taylor Cornelius and Mason Rudolph, who were each big time quarterbacks under Mike Yurcich.

Sanders at Oklahoma State

As mentioned earlier, Sanders started as a redshirt freshman after sitting behind Taylor Cornelius in 2018. Cornelius, under then Cowboys OC and current Penn State OC Mike Yurcich, threw for almost 4,000 yards and ran for another 400. Cornelius, notably, was the backup for Mason Rudolph, who owns the Oklahoma State school records in the following categories: completions, attempts, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and QB rating.

Sanders never materialized into the star QB that his two predecessors, but still managed to be a solid contributor for the Pokes. He finished his Oklahoma State career 3rd in completions, 2nd in passing yards, 3rd in passing touchdowns, and 1st amongst all OSU quarterbacks in rushing yards.