Two former Auburn Tigers quarterbacks found themselves on CBS Sports' Cameron Salerno's "College football transfer portal's biggest busts of 2025" list. Jackson Arnold, who recently announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal, was even in the headline.
Zach Calzada, who made a mild fool of himself flexing his unearned NIL dollars on social media, was also listed for his poor efforts under center for the Kentucky Wildcats before being replaced by Cutter Boley.
Calzada, of course, never played a snap for Auburn. He joined the Tigers to play for quarterbacks coach Austin Davis, who never coached a snap himself before effectively leaving coaching entirely just weeks after being hired.
"The best way to sum up Arnold's season at Auburn is the quote his former coach, Hugh Freeze, gave Justin Hokanson of AuburnSports," Salerno wrote.
"'... But certainly, it didn't work out to the level that he nor I both expected for him and our team. And that's why I'm sitting here.'
"Arnold, the former Oklahoma quarterback, was benched during a 33-24 win over Arkansas. He finished the season with 1,309 passing yards and was never able to find consistency within the offense. It went downhill for Auburn and Arnold after he rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Baylor in the season opener.
"Calzada enrolled at Kentucky this offseason after previous stints at UIW and Texas A&M. He was expected to be UK's starting quarterback for the full season. However, he was benched after just two games and ended the year with 238 yards passing and two interceptions. Kentucky reportedly paid around $1.25 million to pull him out of the transfer portal."
Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze's QB failures on full display
Auburn had the dubious distinction of having had two quarterbacks, recruited by each of their past two full-time head coaches, on the list of the biggest busts in the entire sport. If that doesn't sum up Hugh Freeze and Bryan Harsin's tenures perfectly...
The Tigers have misfired at the most important position on the field on arguably every quarterback who saw the field since Gus Malzahn brought Bo Nix to Lee County, Alabama. Even the most ardent supporters of Robby Ashford, Ashton Daniels, and Payton Thorne have to be cognizant of that.
Deuce Knight might've been the one Freeze got right. It remains to be seen if new head coach Alex Golesh will keep him on the roster. If he does, the Lucedale, Mississippi, product could be destined for superstardom.
The darkest days of QB play on the Plains appear to be over. At least, one can optimistically be hopeful it is.