There are quite a few new faces on the Plains for this upcoming football season, all of which could contribute to the Tigers’ success. As always, though, there’s one position in football far more important than the rest.
A new article from On3 detailing the “key newcomers” from the SEC West pinned new quarterback [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] as Auburn’s selection on the list. Here is what writer Jesse Simonton had to say about the Aggie-turned-Tiger:
“I was tempted to assign freshman safety Caleb Wooden here, as the 4-star prospect was a name-to-know this spring for the Tigers and could push for a starting job early in 2022. But it’s hard not to go with a quarterback, particularly someone who beat archival Alabama last season. Calzada struggled with consistency at Texas A&M (especially accuracy and precision passing) and missing the spring recovering from a shoulder injury. But when healthy, the Peach State native has cannon for an arm and will either win the job outright or force incumbent TJ Finley to prove worthy of keeping Auburn’s QB1 spot.”
Calzada’s defeat over the Tide last year should certainly earn him some points with Auburn fans, but he’ll need to prove that he can consistently produce as a Tigers to truly win them over. Calzada is likely to win the team’s ongoing quarterback competition, so there’s a good possibility he’ll get the first chance to prove his worth when Auburn goes up against the Mercer Bears in its season opener on Sept. 3.
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