AW foresees incoming Auburn football QB recruit to take redshirt in 2023
Auburn Wire’s Taylor Jones foresees incoming Auburn football freshman quarterback Hank Brown taking a redshirt during the 2023 season — whether or not Robby Ashford wins the starting job or if Hugh Freeze finds a transfer portal arm to lead the room.
Brown comes from Lipscomb Academy following a historic high school career under now-UAB head coach Trent Dilfer, who also offered Brown following his de-commitment from Liberty, in Nashville. The six-foot-four 3-star recruit was a dual-sport athlete, also playing basketball.
Jones predicted in his spring preview of the AU quarterback room that Brown will use his freshman season to improve his skillset as a signal-caller in 2023 after following Freeze from Lynchburg, Virginia to the Plains:
"“Hank Brown will be the youngest QB in the room heading into the fall after signing with the Tigers 2023 recruiting class. No matter if Ashford wins the battle, or Freeze elects to bring in a transfer during the May 1-15 transfer portal window, I see Brown redshirting this season and using this time to better his craft under his new head coach.”"
T.J. Finley still in the Auburn football quarterback competition
While it was rumored that T.J. Finley would either join his brother at SELU or take a chance at another Power Five program like Ohio State, the starting quarterback coming out of 2022 fall practices appears to be sticking in Auburn to finish what he started after his post-freshman season defection from LSU. While Finley struggled with his accuracy during his time as QB1 to end his first season with AU following Bo Nix’s season-ending ankle injury and for the first three games of the 2022 season against Mercer, San Jose State, and Penn State, he has shown capable of hanging with top 30 defenses when his Tigers went toe to toe with Alabama and Houston in 2021.
Jones believes that if Finley were to have a big spring, he could force himself to be considered in the quarterback competition by fall camp:
"“If Finley is satisfied with his spring results, he could be provide a great battle for the starting role that will be interesting to watch unfold over the summer.”"
Many Auburn football fans might not like the idea of Finley starting again, but once upon a time Freeze took on a QB cast aside by his previous coach (Malik Willis) and turned him into an NFL draft pick. Finley has a completely different skillset than Willis, and Philip Montgomery’s RPO-oriented offense isn’t the best fit for the six-foot-seven signal-caller. But talent will shine through with good coaching, and if Freeze sees anything he can work with in Finley, it’s possible No. 1 can finally look as good during games as he does in practice.