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Analyst: Developing Auburn football QB1 ‘crucial’ with second transfer window approaching

By Andrew Hughes

AthlonSports' Steven Lassan believes it will be crucial for Auburn football to develop the incumbent starting quarterback before the second transfer window Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
AthlonSports' Steven Lassan believes it will be crucial for Auburn football to develop the incumbent starting quarterback before the second transfer window Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ahead of the A-Day spring game, Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery must prioritize developing returning starting quarterback Robby Ashford before the second transfer window opens.

That’s what Athlon Sports’ Steve Lassan had to say in his power rankings of all 14 teams in the SEC ahead of the spring day games. Auburn football ranked last in the SEC West and No. 11 overall ahead of just Florida, Missouri, and Vanderbilt.

Lassan listed the QB competition and the offensive line in his “What to Watch on Offense” section of his profile on the Tigers:

"“Quarterback Robby Ashford’s development under coach Hugh Freeze and coordinator Philip Montgomery is crucial with the second transfer window opening in mid-April. The line is just as big of a concern for Auburn with four new starters, with three transfers expected to win jobs.”"

Assessing every Auburn football option in the QB room

Ashford is the quarterback who has gotten the most attention in the Auburn quarterback competition — even receiving Heisman hype from the War Rapport — but there’s certainly a case to be made for the other options in the room this spring as well.

TJ Finley is an interesting case because of the fact he’s yet to have anything close to a functional coaching staff. Finley’s freshman season starting for LSU happened during the dying days of Ed Orgeron’s run, which reportedly featured the Tigers coach’s love interest’s kids running around in practice and also featured actions that’d lead to a high-profile sex discrimination case accusing numerous university employees of ignoring sexual assault complaints and violating Title IX policies. His next two seasons came under Bryan Harsin under two different offensive coordinators. Finley now has stability from his AU coaches, and that may bring stability to his headspace during game day if he chooses to stay on the Plains.

Finally, there’s the forgotten man Holden Geriner. Geriner has had been lauded for his arm, but he has minimal on-field experience, dropping back for just three passes against Missouri in Week 4 of the 2022 season. He’s another potential beneficiary of the overhauled coaching staff. Geriner has the talent to winConor Jackson of Dawgs Daily believes the Auburn football QB1 job.

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