Robby Ashford – Page 23 – Syndication Server

What we learned in spring, what we need to learn per ESPN

One media outlet answers what we learned after spring and what question needs to be answered.

As the summer months draw near, there are still plenty of questions surround the Auburn Tigers football program. Bryan Harsin and the staff understand the task at hand.

With the questions surrounding the depth at certain positions, and the lack of experience at others, one question is head and shoulders above the rest. What we hoped to learn revolved around one of the five quarterbacks separating themselves from the pack.

Towards the end, it was down to four with Dematrius Davis transferring out of the program. True freshman Holden Geriner doesn’t seem to have much footing in the competition per some of the reports coming out of the spring, but I wouldn’t count him out just yet.

The three to watch in the fall are all former transfers. Zach Calzada (Texas A&M), T.J. Finley (LSU), and Robby Ashford (Oregon) seem to all have a shot at this point in time. In a review of the SEC, ESPN answered two questions regarding Auburn’s spring practices:

What we learned in the spring

Bryan Harsin is still the head coach after an attempted coup, and Auburn is still interested in getting its tight ends the football. Other than that, there weren’t a lot of questions answered. The offensive line, which had several key players out, struggled, and the receivers didn’t exactly inspire confidence with their drops during last month’s scrimmage. The defense, which lost a number of players through the draft and the transfer portal, appears to be a work in progress. But, again, the tight ends figure to have another big season after catching 12 of the team’s 31 total receptions on A-Day.

What we need to learn by week 1

Give TJ Finley and Robby Ashford credit for executing the offense during the spring game. Neither quarterback turned the ball over or seemed overwhelmed by the moment. But the fact is that neither won the job with their performance. How could they when Zach Calzada wasn’t around to throw his hat in the ring? The former Texas A&M starter was sidelined while he continues to recover from an injury. When he’s back to 100% during fall camp, the real competition will begin and we’ll see who steps up to replace three-year starter Bo Nix, who left for Oregon via the portal this offseason.

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Quarterback buzz: The latest on Auburn’s battle

This battle won’t be settled any time soon.

The talk of the Plains surrounds the quarterback situation for the Auburn Tigers. We know the players. Former Texas A&M quarterback [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag], [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag], and former Oregon Ducks quarterback [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag].

The one name not mentioned here is freshman [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag]. We received a very limited view of him during the ‘A-Day’ spring game a couple of weeks ago. He might be the best of the bunch, but that remains to be seen. All indications seem to point to the top three battling it out and Geriner likely being redshirted for the 2022 season.

Most expect Calzada to win the job overall. In a recent quarterback battle update for the SEC, On3’s Jesse Simonton broke down several teams including Auburn.

Calzada vs Finley vs Ashford

What On3 Says…

While TJ Finley and Robby Ashford battled it out this spring, the whispers behind the scenes continue to suggest Zach Calzada, who was limited to 7-on-7 work as he recovers from a shoulder injury, remains the frontrunner to win the job.

To be clear though, nothing has been decided yet. Bryan Harsin made it known that he plans to whittle down the competition to two following the first fall scrimmage. Notably, Ashford had a strong A-Day even playing behind a shaky Tigers’ offensive line and could be an X-factor in the race due to his athleticism.

Meanwhile, Finley is what he is at this point: A strong-armed quarterback who lacks mobility and accuracy. He does have the best command of Harsin’s offense, but time will tell if that’s enough to overcome the rest of his weaknesses.

Finley may have the most experience in Bryan Harsin’s offense but that doesn’t necessarily give the offense the best chance at success. His mobility could be a huge detriment to their success given the questions with the offensive line. Not to mention, his accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps this battle should come down to the transfer quarterbacks, Ashford and Calzada.

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Ranking Auburn’s A-Day quarterbacks

T.J. Finley, Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner are all looking to make an impact in Auburn’s QB room.

Auburn’s quarterback battle has been one of the prevailing storylines in the offseason, and Auburn’s spring game gave us a good look at three of those quarterbacks in a game simulation setting.

Quarterback [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] played the first half and sat out the second. Transfer freshman [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] received the most playing time across both halves. Freshman [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag] played in only the waning moments of A-Day’s final quarter.

Here are the three quarterbacks that participated in the spring game ranked from least impressive to most impressive:

T.J. Finley, Robby Ashford, and Holden Geriner set to take center stage on ‘A-Day’

Is this T.J. Finley’s job to lose? Can the former LSU transfer separate himself from the pack?

The spring game for the Auburn Tigers is a major starting point for the quarterbacks. Despite the questions surrounding the wide receivers after a mass exodus in the room, the passers are still the biggest talking point as spring ball comes to an end on Saturday.

[autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] has been viewed as QB1 through the process as [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] recovers from shoulder surgery. The Tigers also have former Oregon Ducks dual-threat [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] and 2022 signee [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag] all in the mix. While no starter has been named up until this point, the former LSU quarterback can take a stranglehold on the starting role.

According to ESPN, they previewed this weekend’s game from a quarterback perspective.

T.J. Finley has a major opportunity

What ESPN Says…

No one is going to win the starting quarterback job on Saturday. It doesn’t matter what TJ Finley, Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner do. Until former Texas A&M starter Zach Calzada has fully recovered from shoulder surgery and enters the race to replace departed three-year starter Bo Nix, we won’t know what direction Bryan Harsin and the coaching staff want to go. But because Calzada has been limited, A-Day represents an opportunity for Finley, Ashford and Geriner to separate from one another. Finley has gotten a bunch of first-team reps this spring and it feels as if he’s in the driver’s seat, but he has something to prove after coming on for an injured Nix late last season and not exactly blowing the doors off the place. He was 0-3 as the starter with only four passing touchdowns and one interception. — Alex Scarborough

Finley finished the 2021 season throwing for 827 yards with a 6-1 touchdown-interception ratio. The Louisiana native completed 54.7% of his passes in nine games. The final three games were as the starter in relief of injured starter Bo Nix, who is now in Eugene, Oregon.

On Saturday, he needs to separate himself from the group with a strong showing.

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Auburn Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 9 Robby Ashford

Robby Ashford has an uphill climb to win Auburn’s starting QB job.

Going into the 2022 football season, Auburn Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Tigers roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Bryan Harsin this season.

Our next player to profile is quarterback Robby Ashford. Ashford transferred to The Plains from the Oregon Ducks, but he never saw any game action during his two years in Eugene, Oregon. He’ll hope to impress coach [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] in the spring to win the starting job.

Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: Hoover, Alabama

Ht: 6’3

Wt: 212 pounds

247Sports Composite Ranking

Four-Star | 12 | 12

Class in 2021: Freshman

Career Stats

Year	G	Att	Yards	YPA	Rec	Yards	Total TDs
2020	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2021	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

PFF Rankings (Team Rankings)

Year	Offense	Blocking	Runs	Yards After Contact
2020	–	–	–	–
2021	–	–	–	–

Depth Chart Overview

Ashford’s main goal this season will be to play football for the first time in his college career, and there’s a simple way to do that — beat out his competition for Auburn’s starting QB job.

To do that, there are three people standing in his way: [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag], [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] and [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag]. Aside from Geriner, who is a freshman, both Finley and Calzada will be tough opponents to defeat with their experience in conjunction with his.

None of us here at Auburn Wire had Ashford winning this job, and with Finley’s game experience and Geriner’s potential, Ashford could face disappointment once again when the order shakes itself out.

Bryan Harsin updated Auburn quarterback Zach Calzada’s injury status

It appears that we won’t see Zach Calzada until fall camp.

The Auburn Tigers just finished up week two of spring practice and the staff is trying to get a feel for the quarterback situation. Many have speculated that it will ultimately be [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag]’s job when it is all said and done. However, he hasn’t been able to really get on the field to practice with the team.

On Saturday, head coach [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] provided an update on the former Texas A&M quarterback. Calzada transferred from the Aggies to Auburn following the 2021 college football season. He has been sidelined thus far and Harsin stated that we wouldn’t see him on the practice field until after spring ball comes to a close on Apr. 9 with the “A-Day” spring game.

“Yeah, it’s going to be after spring,” said Harsin. “They’re going to keep him in the brace. He wants to, and he can spin it – so he’s been out there and that ball jumps out of his hand. He stands back there and he’s getting every mental rep he can possibly get. And I know it’s killing him, you can see in his eyes. He wants to compete, he wants to play and you know he feels like he can.”

Thus far it has been the [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag], [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag], and [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag] show in practice. Recently redshirt freshman quarterback Dematrius Davis put his name in the transfer portal. As far as how the progression of Calzada’s recovery is going, Harsin stated they won’t rush him along.

“We’re not going to put him in a situation where that’s going to slow down the progress of his healing'” Harsin said. “He’s doing everything he can to get every mental rep, in the meetings paying attention. So come summertime when we get into those player-run practices, he’ll be ready for that. And then come fall camp, he’ll get his reps, he’ll be full-go and we’ll see where he’s at.”

At this point in time, Calzada has done everything that he can do right now according to Harsin. He will be behind some of the other quarterbacks as far as on the field is concerned, but Calzada is getting all the mental reps that will hopefully help him out in the fall when he can give it a go again.

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On3 provided Harsin’s press conference on their YouTube channel:

Contact/Follow us @AuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

Where does Auburn’s QB decision rank among the most difficult?

Who would you pick at QB if the season started today?

When it comes to the 2022 college football season, there is going to be a lot of movement. Especially at the quarterback position.

There has been so much turnover with recruiting and the transfer portal. This could allow for some more parity amongst the teams at the FBS level. Auburn’s Bryan Harsin will be among the head coaches making some difficult roster decisions for the 2022 campaign.

According to this post from 247Sports, the quarterback competition is among the five most difficult decisions in college football.

Harsin will have to decide between one of five quarterbacks on the roster but the likeliness that it will really be between three players. TJ Finley is the lone returning quarterback from last year’s team among the top three. Robby Ashford transferred in from the Oregon Ducks, while Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Zach Calzada decided to take his chances with another SEC West team.

His former team checks in just above Auburn in the rankings, the Aggies have quite the battle themselves. Haynes King was relieved by Calzada following the injury in the game against the Colorado Buffaloes. They also have five-star signee Conner Weigman and former LSU quarterback Max Johnson.

Ashford’s former team makes the list at No. 9 with former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix and Ty Thompson looking to duke it out for the starting job. Among SEC teams, the Florida Gators have the most difficult decisions and Ole Miss joins the list at No. 8.

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We could start to get a clearer picture as spring football is set to open for the Auburn Tigers and Bryan Harsin on Mar. 14. This is one of the roster decisions that I am thankful that I am not making.

Finley is the incumbent starter, as he replaced an injured Nix in the final three games of the season. Calzada has the most starting experience of anyone on the roster and Ashford has tremendous upside as a dual-threat.

Auburn also has two young guns in 2022 signee Holden Geriner and 2021 signee Dematrius Davis.

Could a freshman be the key at quarterback for Auburn?

Maybe the key is the young gun.

When we broke down the quarterback situation for the Auburn Tigers, we had a three-horse race at the top. Zach Calzada (Texas A&M) and Robby Ashford (Oregon) transfered in and are expected to battle former LSU transfer TJ Finley for the starting job. They should have an intriguing battle, to say the least.

All three have something to prove under center. Let’s take an objective view of each. None of the three really gives you a lot of confidence with a relatively young wide receiver corps.

Calzada has the most experience among the trio at the top. He won six for the Aggies in 2021, including the upset win over the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide.

In his four losses, he passed for 4.2, 6.8, 5.8 and 6.9 yards per attempt. He didn’t really challenge defenders down the field. Calzada’s season average was 6.7 yards per attempt. He also is prone to turnovers.

Finley is best remembered for the comeback victory over Georgia State. That gave the staff confidence he could get the job when called upon. Finley was the starter over the final three games after the Nix injury. He went 0-3 as a starter with the four overtime loss to Alabama, a loss to South Carolina and then to Houston in the bowl game.

While the team was close in all three games, the offense struggled to score in each. Perhaps a full offseason and fall camp would help Finley’s development. It is just hard to have a lot of confidence in the offense with Finley or Calzada at the helm.

You can file Robby Ashford and Dematrius Davis in the same category. Neither have any playing experience though Ashford has tremendous upside. The negative aspect: Everything is a projection. The former four-star quarterback couldn’t sniff the field in Eugene, but perhaps returning to his home state will help.

The newcomer here is Holden Geriner. The four-star signee led his high school team to a state championship as a junior. In two seasons, Geriner threw for more than 7,100 passing yards and 71 touchdowns in his high school career in Georgia.

As a senior, Geriner threw for 3,377 yards and 36 touchdowns. He isn’t just a passer. He can run when he needs to in RPO or zone-read concepts. Geriner is physical enough to withstand the punishment or fight off would-be tacklers. In the pocket, he can navigate to avoid the rush while keeping his eyes down the field.

When it comes to the quarterback position battle, Geriner should be the dark horse.

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Auburn is among the toughest quarterback decisions in 2022

These schools join Auburn with tough quarterback decisions ahead of the 2022 campaign.

It isn’t just the Auburn Tigers who are facing a huge question revolving around the quarterback competition. There are several programs in the SEC alone that are facing that conundrum.

For Auburn, they have very little starting experience outside of the 2021 season. Newcomers Zach Calzada and Robby Ashford’s previous teams made the list as well. Calzada knew that his chances of starting at Texas A&M were slim. Haynes King is expected to return and they signed five-star quarterback Conner Weigman. Not to mention they added a two-year starter from the LSU Tigers, Max Johnson.

LSU has problems of their own with Myles Brennan returning for a sixth year in the program along with redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier and five-star signee, Walker Howard.

As far as Oregon Ducks go, they essentially completed a trade with Auburn. The staff added Bo Nix to their quarterback room and Robby Ashford returns to his home state of Alabama with the Tigers.

Recently, Bleacher Report put together the list of the top nine quarterback battles. We added one as an honorable mention, but we will get to the list in a moment.

What B/R Says About Auburn

Rising junior T.J. Finley played well when Nix went down to injury. He finished the year having thrown for 552 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception with a passer rating of 116.4 in the Tigers’ last three games of the season.

Also on Auburn’s roster now, as mentioned previously, is former TAMU QB Zach Calzada. The former Aggies QB finished the season having thrown for 2,185 yards and 17 touchdowns in 12 games in 2021. He was integral in Texas A&M’s upset of then-No. 1 Alabama, too.

The full list of the teams having huge quarterback battles in alphabetical order:

Should Bryan Harsin entertain the idea of another transfer quarterback?

Is another quarterback too many? Kicking the tires on a top transfer QB who is still available.

There are plenty of questions on the offensive side of the ball. Who will be the offensive coordinator? Who will be the quarterback’s coach? The biggest being who will be the starting quarterback when the Auburn Tigers take the field this fall.

The contenders are Zach Calzada, TJ Finely, and Robby Ashford at the top. Is there another transfer out there that could come in and make this team better?

Connor O’Gara of Saturday Down South kicked around the idea of pursuing former USC and Georgia quarterback J.T. Daniels. Daniels is rated among the top passers available.

What’s the biggest thing Harsin needs to figure out? The offense. Lost in the shuffle of his week in limbo was the fact that he lost offensive coordinator Austin Davis after 6 weeks on the job. But even beyond that, Harsin has something else to figure out — the quarterback situation.

JT Daniels would solve that problem.

If Harsin wants to pin his future on Ashford, Finley or Calzada, that’s on him. But if he dips back into the transfer portal and signs 1 more quarterback who lost his job as an SEC starter, it could be the thing that saves his job.

The premise of the conversation would make sense. The trio of quarterbacks on the roster has started just 13 games combined with a 6-7 record in those contests. Most of that came from Aggies signal-caller Zach Calzada. Finley played in relief duty up until Bo Nix broke his leg.

Zach Calzada- 10 starts (6-4)
TJ Finley- 3 starts (0-3)
Robby Ashford- 0 starts

Could JT Daniels be the next Joe Burrow? Not in the sense that the former Bulldog will put together the best statistical season in one year. Daniels could change the trajectory of the football team on the offensive side of the ball. That would make more sense. Under Harsin in 2021, the offense averaged 28.3 points per game which is No. 68 in the country.

That number is skewed with two games in which Auburn scored 60 and 62 against Akron and Alabama A&M. Against power five teams. that number dropped to 22.1 points per game. They also struggled against Georgia State, TJ Finley came into the game late to save the offense on that day.

Daniels doesn’t have a ton of experience in terms of snaps he took at Georgia. He played in just nine games over two seasons with the Bulldogs but ultimately an injury and the rise of Stetson Bennett kept him off the field. What he does have is being an experienced player that has four years under his belt. Not to mention having been around a championship team.

Daniels clearly has a tremendous upside as a former five-quarterback. Over the life of his career, he has completed 63.8% of his pass attempts with 4,840 yards and 32 touchdowns. Daniels would be a clear upgrade to the room that is full of transfers.

The real question for Daniels is if he wants to stay in the SEC.

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