One of Auburn football’s most important questions heading into the fall may soon have an answer.
After spring practice, the quarterback battle appeared to be decided as [autotag]TJ Finley[/autotag] elected to transfer to Texas State. However, the race took an interesting turn in May as Michigan State transfer [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] announced that he would be transferring into the program to compete with incumbent [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag].
Since then, the competition has turned up a notch. Even dark horse contender [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag] is trying to make a splash in the decision.
Offensive coordinator [autotag]Philip Montgomery[/autotag] provided an update regarding quarterbacks with the media on Monday. He says that he hopes Saturday’s scrimmage will provide more clarity on the battle.
“I just want to see somebody take control and take a step forward. Separate themselves. That’s what you’re looking for in your quarterback position — a guy that’s gonna lead, guy that’s gonna make plays,” Montgomery said. “He doesn’t have to be Superman, but he does have to be consistent in his play in his decision making and taking care of the football, and then moving us down the field and staying ahead of chains.”
He went on to say that the quarterback who remains the most consistent in making plays will win the job. But what does each quarterback bring to the table? He began by describing Thorne and his “student of the game” mentality. Thorne has done well at getting up to speed with the new system.
“He’s seeing things right now at a really good rate,” Montgomery said. “You’ve gotta remember, he wasn’t here in the spring. Some of the things that he’s picked up on, we’ve gotta get everybody else around that to be on the same page with him. But I think he’s done a great job with his leadership. He’s disciplined, and he’s professional about what he does.”
When it comes to Ashford, Montgomery says that he has become more consistent over the fall.
“(Ashford has) got a big arm. But it’s the consistency of the fundamentals that kind of go into that part of it. He’s worked really hard on that,” Montgomery said. “I think he’s really operated. He does a really good job of trying to lead and be positive and do the things that we’re asking him to do.”
The Tigers will continue fall camp until Saturday, Aug. 19. As part of fall camp, Auburn will have two scrimmages at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
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