Ohio State blog Buckeyes Now was not opposed to the idea of OSU adding Auburn football transfer portal quarterback entry TJ Finley, who left the Plains on May 2 following two years and six starts for the Tigers. Buckeyes Now writer Harrison Reno noted the SEC experience from Finley, who also started five games during the pandemic-stricken 2020 season.
“Adding Finley would give Ohio State a veteran presence in the quarterback room with SEC experience as a starter,” Reno wrote.
Ohio State is currently sorting out their quarterback situation, with Devin Brown — who didn’t appear for the Buckeyes during their April 15 spring game intrasquad exhibition — and Kyle McCord the current top options and Tristan Gebbia available as a pull-in-case-of-emergency option.
Auburn football experience under center is valued around the country
Playing under center for Auburn football means you’re playing the best defenses in the country year in and year out with no ifs, and’s, or but’s about it. Georgia, Alabama, and LSU are built-in features for the Tigers’ schedule on a yearly basis, and Texas A&M at least recruits like a juggernaut.
Trey Lindsay and Zach Calzada will be stepping into QB1 roles at UAlbany and Incarnate Word after seeing minimal playing time on the Plains, but the very fact they were in AU’s system at all — let alone during one of the most maligned eras in Tigers history under Bryan Harsin — gives them an edge at nearly level in college football.
While the standard at Auburn hasn’t met the “Alabama standard” up north in recent years, being the rival to the last four College Football Playoff National Champions has elevated the experience every player in the program brings to the sport as a transfer portal possibility.
Under Hugh Freeze, perhaps those two standards will be a lot closer in proximity in the future.