The offense of Auburn football is being led by almost a completely new coaching staff in the 2023 season, and there is hope that it will see major improvement. Last season, the Tigers’ offense struggled to find an identity and was riddled with issues that they simply could not overcome.
Now, the Tigers have head coach Hugh Freeze, who has a reputation for developing quarterbacks, as well as offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery, who has extensive experience in high-level coaching, both as OC and head coach. The pair will bring together their offensive systems with Philip Montgomery taking the lead on play-calling this fall.
One of the questions that certainly needs addressing ahead of the 2023 season, much like last year, is who will be the Tigers’ starting quarterback? With Zach Calzada off to Incarnate Word, the quarterbacks competing for the job will be Robby Ashford, TJ Finley, and Holden Geriner, and all three would require a tremendous amount of work before being named QB1.
Spring practice, which begins early next week, will provide some insight as to what the coaches are thinking and how the quarterbacks are performing, but Montgomery said he is eager to work with them all, per AL.com:
"“I’m excited to get in there and work with those guys,” Montgomery said. “Yes, I’ve watched the tapes. I don’t want to judge them off the tape parts of it. I want to be able to get in a room and kind of go through what we’re going to do and how they fit within that and how this offense will mold around their strengths and weaknesses. I think we’ve got a lot of good talent in that room, and it’s about getting those guys kind of locked into what we do and how we do it, and then truly being able to evaluate from that standpoint.”"
Where last year’s offense seemed to operate in general by just doing the best that they could, it seems that this year’s offense will be molded around whoever is named the starting quarterback.
After giving his all to Auburn football last season, it seems likely that Ashford will be first in line for the job, but if Finley truly outplays him then he could get the nod. Geriner is a dark horse for QB1, but after getting a little experience last season and with the new coaching staff coming in, it’s very possible that the redshirt freshman will have a genuine shot at becoming QB1.