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Auburn football: Analyst expects Robby Ashford to be QB1, projects marginal improvement for Tigers’ record

By Andrew Hughes

Late Kick's Josh Pate projects Robby Ashford to get the nod as QB1 in 2023, though he expects Auburn football to only improve marginally in the standings Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Late Kick's Josh Pate projects Robby Ashford to get the nod as QB1 in 2023, though he expects Auburn football to only improve marginally in the standings Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Late Kick host Josh Pate sees first-year Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze getting the most out of Robby Ashford of any college coach the Hoover products ever had — and he’s projecting Ashford to be named the starting quarterback for the 2023 season.

Freeze recently commented on the possibility that the Tigers’ QB1 is not yet on campus. It’s said that Freeze needs to see major development for the incumbent Ashford and Holden Geriner — and conceivably T.J. Finley, who has not yet entered the transfer portal despite rumors to the contrary — in order for them to be in consideration for the starting signal-caller role. Those could simply be motivational tactics to challenge his QB room for all we know.

Pate foresees Ashford being one of several players Freeze will get the most out of during his first season on the Plains. But he wasn’t completely bullish about the 2023 Auburn football season…

Josh Pate predicts a marginally improved record for Auburn football in 2023

Despite what should undoubtedly be a program with far better talent and morale, Auburn football was only given a prognostication of marginal improvement from Josh Pate for the 2023 season.

According to Pate, a two-game win improvement may be the team’s most realistic end result:

"“I expect them to get better. But with this schedule they play, even if you improve a little bit, you still got LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Texas A&M. Maybe some of those teams fall short of expectations, but you can’t count on that. Auburn could be improved, but they’re still 7-5 instead of 5-7.”"

With LSU getting back Jayden Daniels and hosting Auburn in Death Valley, Arkansas returning KJ Jefferson, Texas A&M, and Alabama and Georgia integrating another wave of elite recruiting classes, things will certainly be though for the Tigers in 2023.

It’ll be on Freeze to buck the trends and give the media another round of freezing cold takes to look back on by the time December rolls around.

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