Tag: T.J. Finley

Former Auburn QB commits to Conference USA program

T.J. Finley has found a new home after spending last season at Texas State.

A former Auburn quarterback is on the move again, this time to Conference USA.

[autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag], who spent time as a starting quarterback for Auburn from 2021-22, has announced that he has committed to Western Kentucky. He joins the Hilltoppers after spending one season at Texas State.

After transferring from Auburn ahead of the 2023 season, Finley would go on to have the best season of his collegiate career to this point. He played in all 13 games for GJ Kinne and Texas State last season and went on to complete 67.4% of his passes for 3,439 yards and 24 touchdowns while leading the Bobcats to an eight-win season.

This marks the fourth stop on Finley’s college journey. The Ponchatoula, Louisiana native began his college career at LSU, where he threw for 941 yards and five touchdowns in one season. He then spent the next two seasons at Auburn before making the move to Texas State for the 2023 season. He announced his intent to transfer days after former Arizona quarterback Jayden de Lauria announced his commitment to Texas State.

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Transfer destination for Robby Ashford is revealed

The former Auburn quarterback is expected to remain in the SEC according to a report by 247Sports.

Ahead of Auburn’s trip to Nashville to compete in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl, quarterback [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] announced his intention to enter the transfer portal. On Tuesday, Brad Crawford and Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reported that Ashford had found a new home.

According to the report, Ashford is expected to remain in the SEC and transfer to South Carolina.

Ashford joined Auburn’s roster in 2022 via transfer from Oregon and served as the starting quarterback for most of the season following an injury to previous starter, [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag]. However, he never returned to the starter role for the 2023 season under new head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]. He split time with Michigan State transfer [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] before Thorne ultimately took over the starter role in November.

Ashford’s Auburn career closes with 1,758 passing yards and nine touchdowns. As a rusher, he gained 927 yards and added 12 additional touchdowns.

Ashford will now compete for the starting quarterback job at South Carolina. Previous starter, Spencer Rattler, is set to take the next step in his career by declaring for the NFL draft. He will challenge favorite Luke Doty for the role.

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Payton Thorne, Robby Ashford discuss ongoing quarterback rotation

How are Thorne and Ashford handling the quarterback situation through seven games?

Through seven games, the ongoing quarterback battle tells us that [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and [autotag]Philip Montgomery[/autotag] are not set on one guy leading the offense.

Although each quarterback brings a certain set of skills that can be useful in Auburn’s offense, neither [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] nor [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] has developed enough to take the reigns of the battle for themselves. One of the main issues with the rotation is that neither quarterback has a chance to build consistency in game situations. Thorne says that he has never been a part of a two-quarterback system before, and is still adjusting to the role.

“I’ve never had to do that before. It’s a new challenge for me. I’ve never really seen anybody else do that either. So I don’t know if there’s anybody I can ask to learn from,” Thorne said this week. “Every time I’m in there, I’m trying to do what I’m supposed to do and do what I’m being coached to do and execute and make a play when we need it.”

Ashford, who experienced a rotation with [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] in the early portion of the 2022 season, says that his experience this season is all about learning and executing his “package plays.”

“That’s just the biggest thing. Just honing in on my package plays, too. You’ve got to know all of that. It’s just really, for me, just knowing my package plays on top of knowing the playbook. Those are just big things,” Ashford said. “I try to learn every single week what we’re running and, on top of that, what my package plays are and what I am trying to do with those. It’s a little bit extra studying, but I can’t complain.”

In the rotation, Thorne has the edge in attempted passes with 130 as opposed to Ashford who has thrown just 26 times. Thorne also has 259 rushing yards compared to Ashford’s 180. Head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] was asked about the quarterback rotation during Monday’s press conference and said that this week’s rotation would be based on which quarterback gives the team the best chance to win.

“Whatever our offensive staff convinces me is the best approach to give us a chance to win a game,” Freeze said. “I’ve said from day one that I think Robby has a place, and is his place ever down? We’ll see this week. If it’s a package that enables us to continue drives. I think we always have to look at those things right now, with the current state of who we are. I’m not content, though, with anything right now offensively.”

Auburn’s next chance to perfect the art of quarterback rotation will be Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT when the Tigers host Mississippi State at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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Where Robby Ashford falls in 247Sports’ Power Five QB rankings

247Sports dropped their Power Five quarterback rankings, and has given Ashford a less-than-ideal outlook.

Auburn, like several other programs across the SEC, has a quarterback issue that needs to be resolved.

[autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] took over the starting quarterback role in week four of the 2022 season after previous starter [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] exited Auburn’s loss to Penn State after suffering a shoulder injury. Ashford would go on to pass for 1,613 yards and rush for an additional 849.

As a passer, Ashford completed 49.2% of his passes. His intended targets dropped 16 passes, and Ashford himself threw 15 passes that were deemed “turnover worthy” by Pro Football Focus.

He hopes to redeem himself this season but will need to battle Michigan State transfer [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and redshirt freshman [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag] for the starting quarterback role.

If Ashford were to win the starting quarterback job, where would he stack up against the remainder of the Power Five’s best? 247Sports has provided an answer.

247Sports’ Clint Brewster has ranked all 64 projected starting quarterbacks from Power Five programs ahead of the 2023 season, where he listed Ashford as Auburn’s representative. If Ashford does win the job, he will have an opportunity to prove that he is worth more than his low ranking.

Here is a rundown of where each SEC quarterback is placed in 247Sports’ Power Five quarterback rankings.

Sports Illustrated ranks SEC quarterbacks ahead of fall camp

Robby Ashford will compete with Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne this summer for the starting quarterback role at Auburn.

SEC football in 2023 will feature a healthy mix of returning stars, incoming transfers, and quarterbacks who will gain control of their respective offenses for the first time.

At Auburn, there will be a compelling quarterback battle between incumbent starter [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] and Michigan State transfer [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag]. Thorne brings experience to the table, but Ashford has much more experience against SEC defenses. Auburn fans will follow the fierce competition closely until a starter is named.

Ahead of fall camp, Sports Illustrated’s Crissy Froyd revealed her SEC quarterback rankings. Due to Auburn not having announced a starter, Froyd listed Ashford as Auburn’s representative. Ashford checks into the list at No. 11 ahead of Missouri’s Brady Cook, Florida‘s Graham Mertz and Vanderbilt’s AJ Swann.

Ashford took over the starting quarterback role during Auburn’s loss to Penn State following the injury to former quarterback [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag]. Ashford appeared in all 12 of Auburn’s games in 2022, ending the season with 1,613 passing yards and seven passing touchdowns. On his feet, he rushed for a 710 yards and seven touchdowns.

Ashford went through spring practice with Auburn, which is something Thorne can not say. Thorne has nearly three seasons of starting experience, however, which will play a huge role in the quarterback competition this summer.

Here’s a full look at Froyd’s QB rankings ahead of this fall’s schedule.

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Where Auburn’s QB situation ranks among the rest of the FBS

Does Auburn have a more favorable quarterback outlook opposed to years past? ESPN’s David Hale breaks it down.

Auburn football entered the spring with a dubious quarterback situation, as the Tigers would enter the 2023 season with the same candidates from the 2022 season in [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag], [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag], and [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag].

It got more interesting in April as Finley departed the program for Texas State, and [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] joined the program after spending three seasons at Michigan State.

Does Auburn’s revamped situation bring a sense of confidence to the program? ESPN’s David Hale seems to think so.

Hale recently placed all 133 FBS teams’ quarterback situations into tiers, and Auburn has landed in tier seven, which is titled A fresh start offers cause for optimism. The tier centers around programs that feature transfer quarterbacks such as Georgia Tech, Houston, Louisville, Illinois, and Purdue. Those programs bring in talented quarterbacks who have experience from previous schools.

One anonymous defensive coach from the Big Ten says that Thorne will be a game-changer for Auburn.

“It’s a whole different offense, and I don’t know what they have around him for what they’re going to be doing, but I think he’s going to check a lot of boxes for what you’d want of a transfer in Year 1 at a program.”

As for Michigan State, they check in at tier 11, which is named “incomplete grades.” Concerning the Spartans’ situation, another anonymous coach predicts that Mel Tucker will regret letting Thorne walk away from the program.

“I have a hard time believing Michigan State wanted to see him go. How do you want to start all over in a critical year with a brand-new quarterback (Noah Kim) that has no game experience?”

Thorne brings three seasons of experience with him to Auburn and has passed for 6,493 yards and 49 touchdowns. With one true season as a quarterback at the FBS level, Ashford threw for 1,613 yards and seven touchdowns during the 2022 season for Auburn. The competition will be interesting to see unfold over the next several months.

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Former Auburn quarterback T.J. Finley to join Texas State

Finley heads to San Marcos with three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Former Auburn Tigers quarterback [autotag]T.J. Finley [/autotag] will be heading out west to play for the Texas State Bobcats.

This will be the third program Finley has played for. Finley was a member of the LSU Tigers in 2020, Auburn in 2021 and 2022, and now Texas State.

Finley first entered the portal during the 2022 season but ended up withdrawing his name. This was likely to see what his options were under [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and the new staff. Finley entered the portal again on May 2nd, just three days before former Michigan State Spartans quarterback Payton Thorne announced that he would be transferring to Auburn.

After being named the starting quarterback before the season, Finley only appeared in four games for Auburn in 2022. He went 33-53 for 431 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions.

Finley took over the starting quarterback role in 2021 after [autotag]Bo Nix[/autotag] went down with an injury in week 10. Finley went 51-91 for 600 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception throughout the 2021 season.

The Auburn quarterback battle is now between Thorne, [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag], and [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag].

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Looking back at T.J. Finley’s time at Auburn

Here’s a rewind of Finley’s two-year career as an Auburn quarterback.

The two-year Auburn career of quarterback [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] has officially come to a close, as he announced this week that he will enter the transfer portal as a graduate student once he receives his degree from Auburn University this upcoming weekend.

Finley transferred to Auburn after spending his freshman season at LSU, where he appeared in five games during the 2020 season. As a Bayou Bengal, Finley completed 80-of-140 passes for 941 yards and five touchdowns. His best game in purple and gold was against South Carolina on Oct. 24, 2020, when he completed 81% of his passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns in LSU’s 52-24 win over the Gamecocks.

Finley played a major role in Auburn’s 2021 matchup with Georgia State, as he led the Tigers to a last-minute scoring drive to avoid a monumental upset to the Panthers. He also took over the starting quarterback role for the final three games of the 2021 season after starter [autotag]Bo Nix[/autotag] suffered an ankle injury in Auburn’s 43-34 loss to Mississippi State.

He assumed the role of starting quarterback for the 2022 season, beating out Oregon transfer [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag]. He would start in the Tigers’ first three games, but a shoulder injury he suffered against Penn State would end his season. He concluded the 2022 season by passing for 431 yards and a touchdown with four interceptions.

His Auburn career ends with 1,258 passing yards on 103-of-180 completions.

As Finley begins to embark on a new journey, here’s a look back at some of the key moments of his career at Auburn.

247Sports makes bold predictions for Auburn’s 2023 season

What do you think about these predictions?

With the end of spring practice and the closing of the second transfer portal, we now have a better understanding of what each team’s roster is going to look like for the 2023 season and it is time to make predictions.

Brad Crawford, a national writer for 247Sports, made 50 bold predictions about the SEC in the 2023 season recently and several were about Auburn.

Crawford was particularly impressed with Auburn’s efforts to rebuild the offensive line, something the Tigers have been trying to do for the past several years. This work will also help [autotag]Jarquez Huner[/autotag], someone, Crawford has high expectations for.

He also doesn’t think Auburn is done in the portal and expects Auburn to land a specific quarterback now that [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] has moved on.

Here is a look at each of his predictions for [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s first season as Auburn’s head coach.

Auburn twitter reacts to T.J. Finley’s transfer portal entry

Auburn fans have mixed feelings towards T.J. Finley and his decision to enter the transfer portal.

Auburn fans received fascinating news Tuesday when quarterback [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] announced that he would enter the transfer portal as a graduate student.

Finley’s time at Auburn drew mixed reviews, as he passed for 1,258 yards and 12 touchdowns in two seasons at Auburn, where he played in 13 games and made six starts.

The most notable appearance of Finley’s career took place during the 2021 season when Auburn hosted Georgia State at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Down 24-21 with under a minute to go, Auburn called upon Finley to relieve Bo Nix at quarterback. Finley would toss a 10-yard touchdown pass to Shedrick Jackson to steal the lead away from the Panthers. Auburn would go on to win the game, 31-21.

Following Finley’s announcement, Auburn fans flooded Twitter to share their thoughts on the news. Some were grateful for Finley, especially with his role in the Georgia State win. Others, well, weren’t so kind.

Here’s a look at how Auburn fans reacted to Finley’s entry into the transfer portal.