As coaches are starting to gear up for spring practices across college football, there is usually some form of an early quarterback controversy that goes on. We look into the Auburn Tigers quarterback room as things heat up in the adolescent stage of college football season.
Hugh Freeze is trying to determine who gets the keys to the offense to in his first spring as the Auburn coach. There have been reports about a QB battle between T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford, which are the two Coach Freeze likely has in mind. It has even been talked about who should be the starter within the Tiger Family. In an article written by AL.com’s Tom Green, former running back Tank Bigsby said he believes Finley should be the guy because of his calm demeanor. “He’s a very calm guy. You know, in situations, he never trips. All the adversity he’s been through, he keeps going. He keeps fighting. He’s looking for more. I can relate to guys like that.”
Cole Cubelic, former Auburn legend, shared his thoughts on Ashford on his podcast a few weeks ago. “…. Think about this with Robby, too: he played a lot last year. I mean, you got, what, a good three-quarters of a season as like the guy or whatever it was. Go back to this time a year ago. I had the Auburn spring game last year, so I met with Harsin. I went to practice a couple of times. I called the game. Richard Cross and I were there on the sideline talking to Harsin about Robby during the game. He was almost an afterthought right now going into spring ball. Then remember through spring ball, a little more discussion, little more discussion, little more discussion, and like midway through spring ball, it kind of got to like, oh, could we have a package for this guy? Then toward the end of spring ball, it was like, ‘he’s going to play.’ He came a long way in one spring.”
Since it’s so early in the process, it can be tricky to say how the process may go, due to so many uncertainties that go on in college football and the transfer portal. We want to make a case for each quarterback that’s in the battle because in college football you need multiple game-ready quarterbacks to win games.
Let’s make “The Case” for Finley. Out of the quarterbacks in this room, Finley has a major leg up due to his experience being a seasoned QB in the SEC, playing for LSU before coming to Auburn. He has seen and played a lot of football. At LSU, he proved that he can play the quarterback position in the SEC, throwing for 941 yards in five games in 2020 with a passer rating of 118.2. There is something to be said about an 18-year-old being thrown into the fire like that.
In his first year at Auburn in 2021, it was shaky from the start for Finley, dealing with the instability of Bryan Harsin’s program, going 0-3 in starts, but having a 6-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. His skillset as a passer will be his biggest complement to the offense, and his physical tools are a big plus as well, measuring in at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds while boasting a rocket arm. For Freeze, he wants to be able to push the ball downfield, which could favor Finley as he goes through this battle. If the offensive line can move bodies in the run of the game with no need for the QB read scheme, this can be a reason for T.J. to be the starter.
The Case for Ashford is going to be the most intriguing, due to his ineffectiveness as a passer. In Robby’s defense, it can be said that last year offensively for the Tigers was a constant crapshoot. The offense had no real identity or philosophical reasons as to why it was doing things it was doing. With that being said, his first real year of live football in quite some time, for what it was worth, it wasn’t bad. The offense wasn’t called for him to be a true quarterback but to be a game manager and use his athleticism in the read option game or when the first reads weren’t there. Robby will need to focus on being a better passer as he goes through the spring. He has a lot of room for development with him being such a dynamic athlete with the ball in his hand. His upside will be a reason we can see Hugh making the call and making Robby the starter come fall.
Redshirt freshman Holden Geriner will be overlooked against two competitors with starting experience, but we have seen crazier stories in college football regarding third-string quarterbacks or guys who haven’t played a lot. Holden received praise from Freeze, who said that the young quarterback works his butt off, to paraphrase the statement. Without a lot of experience under his belt, why would he be considered a starter? There is no pressure on him at all to compete; all he has to do is take the coaching and improve every day and eventually earn those first-team reps. He isn’t the dual threat that Ashford is, but he does have to capability to extend plays and has the courage to stand in the pocket and get the ball out fast. Getting the extra reps and knowing everyone’s job in the offense can be his best friend if he wants to be able to compete for the QB1 job.
With all this compelling evidence, it is my belief that T.J. Finley will be the starting quarterback for the Auburn Tigers. His ability to push the ball down the field will suit a Philip Montgomery offense better because there isn’t a lot of QB read scheme. With a potential two-headed monster at the running back position with Jarquez Hunter and South Florida transfer Brian Battie, the running game will be fine. You can win games in the SEC with a great game manager. Finley may not have won over the fan base just yet, but this is a clean slate for him and he will look to prove the doubters wrong.
