Analyst: Incumbent Auburn football starting QB has ‘winning football inside of him’

CBS Sports analyst Josh Pate believes 2022 Auburn football starting quarterback Robby Ashford has ‘winning football inside of him,’ saying as much on the latest edition of his Late Kick show (h/t 247Sports’ Cameron Salerno).

Pate specified that there’s be a fairly significant range on what he expects from the former Alabama High School Athletic Association 7A championship signal-caller, but he believes new head coach Hugh Freeze could be the catalyst for an improved season from the incumbent dual-threat.

Ashford, who amassed 1,613 passing yards, 710 rushing yards, seven passing touchdowns, seven rushing touchdowns, and seven interceptions during nine starts and 12 appearances overall, is going to earn the college football world’s praise in 2023 so says Pate:

"“I happen to think Robby Ashford has winning football inside of him. I don’t know whether it’s seven wins or 10 wins, I think he got the right head coach at the right time. My suspicion is that we will be watching the SEC come November if he’s healthy and say ‘I had no clue Robby Ashford was this good. …I think Robby Ashford is going to be a pretty good football player this year. He’s still going to have to prove it.”"

The Auburn football starting quarterback job is Robby Ashford’s to lose

With Ashford profiling as the No. 1 option on the depth chart given the lack of Grayson McCall, Devin Leary, Brennan Armstrong, and Spencer Sanders all ending up elsewhere, the starting Auburn football QB job is his to lose.

Holden Geriner has been praised for his passing — being called the best thrower pass rusher Marcus Harris had ever seen ahead of the 2022 season’s Week four matchup against Mizzou — but has practically no experience running an offense, throwing just thee passes in his one appearance last season.

Hank Brown, the big-armed Liberty flip who followed Freeze from Lynchburg to the Plains, won’t be around until the summer. That makes his odds to become the starter by September seriously slim.

Should Ashford not earn the job after A-Day, it’s possible the coaching staff could once again dip into the transfer portal talent pool.