TJ Finley – Page 3 – 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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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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Projected starter Zach Calzada ranks near bottom of the SEC

Zach Calzada isn’t getting rave reviews.

This could be a big year for Zach Calzada. After helping the Aggies to an 8-4 record, he comes to the Auburn Tigers. Perhaps they should call it Quarterback Transfer U. Three of the five on scholarship joined over the past two seasons through the portal.

One wouldn’t envy the decision that has to be made during spring football and fall camp ahead of the 2022 season. Most believe it will be Calzada’s job to lose, but don’t forget T.J. Finley was the starter for the final three games after Bo Nix injured his ankle.

According to Athlon Sports, the former Texas A&M transfer quarterback is among the bottom three passers in the SEC.

What Steven Lassan says about Calzada:

This is a tough quarterback competition to project. Calzada started 10 games, led Texas A&M to an upset of Alabama while throwing for 2,185 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2021. However, he’s not guaranteed the starting role after transferring to the Plains. Former LSU signal-caller T.J. Finley threw for 827 yards and six scores last fall, while freshmen Dematrius Davis and Holden Geriner are also in the mix.

There are plenty of quarterbacks in the mix. Athlon didn’t even mention Oregon Ducks transfer, Robby Ashford. He has tremendous upside; he just never saw the field in his two seasons in Eugene. It will not be an easy quarterback battle, but Calzada has the most experience of anyone on campus. He appeared in three games during his freshman season of 2019 throwing for two touchdowns on 24 passes.

Athlon Sports’ Ranking: No. 12

According to Lassan, only Brady Cook of Missouri and Ken Seals/Mike Wright of Vanderbilt were lower in their early rankings. Calzada finished 6-4 as a starter for the Aggies and led them to the victory over the Colorado Buffaloes after Haynes King went down with an injury.

Can coach Bryan Harsin help Calzada take the next step after showing signs of promise at Texas A&M?

Last season Calzada finished with an NFL passer rating of 82.2 and a 79.6 passing grade from Pro Football Focus. For comparison, last year’s starter Bo Nix had an NFL passer rating of 88.9 and a 76.6 passing grade.

In his biggest game of the year against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Calzada posted a passer rating of 115.7 and passer grade of 86.4. Perhaps Harsin and offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau can get more of that Calzada in 2022.

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:

Projecting the pre-spring two-deep offensive depth chart

Continuing our spring preview series, we project what the two-deep could look like on offense.

This might be one of the most difficult roster projections with the number of unknowns on the offensive side of the ball. We will give it our best shot nonetheless.

While the Auburn Tigers have given no indication as to who the offensive coordinator will be, it should be relatively similar to last year under Bryan Harsin.

The quarterback battle will be one of four huge position tussles to monitor. There is no Bo Nix for the first time in four years but TJ Finley returns after finishing out the season as the starter. Two more quarterbacks have transferred in with 2021 Texas A&M starter Zach Calzada and former Oregon Duck Robby Ashford.

Not only will it be interesting from the standpoint of having any of five quarterbacks make the start, but the team also lacks a quarterback coach for the time being. That could change at any moment but the sooner it happens, the sooner the quarterbacks can get to work.

Wide receiver is another position that can vary based on where the players will line up. Losing Kobe Hudson, Caylin Newton, Elijah Canion, and Ja’Varrius Johnson will put you at a disadvantage. The names at the top of the two-deep will likely stay the same, but their placement on the field could change.

The tight ends and the offensive line seem pretty straightforward at this moment. We broke down each position in our pre-spring two-deep depth chart.

Previewing the 2022 roster: How does the quarterback situation look?

With the dust now settled, we begin to breakdown where LSU stands at each position.

Managing a quarterback room in 2022 resembles something more similar to a political art than coaching football.

Only one quarterback can play, and usually, there’s more than one that wants to. This has resulted in a quarterback carousel across the country.

Over the last couple of years, LSU has had a few guys decide to ride that carousel. Most notably, Max Johnson is now at Texas A&M. During the last offseason, TJ Finely transferred to Auburn.

Myles Brennan was in line to ride but opted to return to LSU after Johnson’s transfer and speaking with Kelly.

LSU, for now, is in good shape here. Brennan is a sixth-year player with plenty of arm talent. He waited for this opportunity, and he waited again.

When Joe Burrow came in 2018, many assumed Brennan would transfer. Some viewed it as a sign that LSU did not believe in Brennan and if he wasn’t ready then, he’d never be.In his three starts in 2020, he looked good in what turned out to be a bad situation. He was shaky in that loss to Mississippi State. He looked like one would expect a quarterback to make when making his first career start. As Brennan got his feet under him and started to settle in, he looked like an SEC quarterback.

Behind Brennan, sit Garrett Nussmeier and Walker Howard, two blue-chip recruits.

Eventually, either Nussmeier or Howard will eventually transfer. They’re both talented and after Brennan leaves, one of them will have to win the job.

If It’s Nussmeier, it’s plausible that Howard could stick around and wait it out, but it’s rare to see someone as highly recruited as Howard do that.

Nussmeier got a little time last year and showed his willingness to be a gunslinger, but outside of that, didn’t show much as LSU remained with Johnson under center.

Quarterbacks are almost impossible to predict. There’s never a sure thing. There have been too many five stars never to be heard of again after signing day. Each year, just look at all the QB’s in the portal that never panned out.

Nobody knows how Nussmeier’s or Howard’s careers will turn out. They could be first-round picks or they could finish their careers in the Sun Belt.

It’ll be interesting to see how hard LSU goes after a quarterback in the 2023 class. Obviously, everyone in college football would like Arch Manning on their team, but if LSU misses out on Manning, do they see it as necessary to get someone else?

One would also think LSU having Howard and Nussmeier is something Manning or any other 2023 signal-caller has to take into account. He’d enter his freshman year as the third-string QB, as opposed to some other spots, where he could have a much easier path to the field.

Last Word

LSU’s QB room is in good shape with a lot of talent, but it remains a possibility to turn volatile in 2023, or sooner if Brennan struggles this fall. There’s plenty of talent here, but it needs to be developed. LSU is one injury away from having less than three scholarship quarterbacks, again.

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Predicting each SEC starting quarterback for 2022

Who will be Auburn’s starting quarterback in 2022? Here is a projection:

The SEC is going to be loaded at quarterback in 2022.

While only half of the conference’s starters from 2021 will be returning for next season, there will be several names that have also transferred in that will be interesting to watch (Spencer Rattler to South Carolina, Zach Calzada to Auburn, Jack Miller to Florida, and whoever eventually transfers to Ole Miss).

I’m looking forward to the progression from the signal-callers that started this past season, however. 2021 was a year starved of elite quarterback play across the college football landscape. Watching some of the conference’s experienced QB’s continue to improve will be fun to see.

With all of that being said, here is every SEC team’s projected starting quarterback for the 2022 season.

Former Texas A&M quarterback Zach Calzada transfers to Auburn

Auburn has found their transfer portal QB! What do you think about this pickup?

Auburn just picked up a very interesting transfer portal quarterback.

Zach Calzada, formerly the starting quarterback for Texas A&M, has officially announced he will be transferring to Auburn, per his Instagram page.

Calzada played in all 12 games for Texas A&M in 2021, completing 56.3% of his passes for 2,185 yards, 17 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He stepped in for the injured Haynes King during the Aggies’ game vs Colorado, taking control of the starting job after that.

Calzada’s most notable feat during his only year with A&M was his performance against Alabama, in which Calzada threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns.

Auburn will now have a four-way quarterback battle entering spring camp between TJ Finley, Dematrius Davis, Holden Geriner, and Zach Calzada.

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Five things Auburn fans want out of the quarterback position

What do you want to see from the quarterback position moving forward?

As a fan of Auburn football, I will admit things have not been perfect with the quarterback position over the past three seasons.

Some of that isn’t to blame on the quarterback. Some of it is. I’m sad to see Bo Nix leave the program, but now, Auburn can weigh their options and really find their scheme fit. It could come from the transfer portal, or it could already be on the roster (TJ Finley, Dematrius Davis, or Holden Geriner arriving in 2022).

Using some of the characteristics on my quarterback wishlist, here are five things fans may want out of the quarterback position now that Auburn is searching for a new full-time starter for the first time in three seasons.

Some potential landing spots for Bo Nix

Here are five potential landing spots for Bo Nix.

Three-year starter Bo Nix has decided to move on from Auburn.

He finished his career with the Tigers in a rather disappointing way, with an ankle injury suffered against Mississippi State that kept him out for the remainder of the season. A tough way to end things with Auburn.

It’s really disappointing to see Nix leave, as he was beginning to hit his stride before he was injured. But, players have to do what is best for themselves. Best of luck to Nix wherever he may end up transferring.

So, where will Nix end up going?

Here are some potential landing spots for Bo Nix.