Former Aggie QB Zach Calzada named as the Southland Football Newcomer of the Year

Once an Aggie always as former Texas A&M quarterback Zach Calzada earns All-Southland Conference honors

Aggie legend and former signal-caller Zach Calzada is finding success in his new home.

The quarterback position at Texas A&M has been a revolving door for several seasons since the departure of Kellen Mond. Whether it was the over-confidence in Jimbo Fisher’s ability to coach up QBs, bad injury luck or just the sheer level of competition the SEC brings, it seems the string of QBs is just not reaching their full potential.

Calzada, while inconsistent, was a gamer and gave the Aggies one of the better performances from a Texas A&M quarterback against Alabama not named Johnny Manziel. After a brief stint at Auburn, Calzada found his way to the University of Incarnate World in the Southland Conference.

In his first season under head coach Clint Killough and OC/QB coach Conner McQueen, he helped lead the team to a 9-2 record and the top-ranked offense in the conference. Calzada’s consistent play led to him being named the 2023 Southland Football Newcomer of the Year and first-team all-conference. You can see the announcement below.

ZACH CALZADA 2023 STATS:

  • 188 of 283 – 66.4% – 2,598 YARDS – 19 TDs – 9 INTs

Congratulations to Zach Calzada and the success he’s been able to achieve as he nears the end of his college career.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

Former Auburn LB finds new home at FCS program

Kameron Brown will continue his football career as a graduate student.

Ahead of the spring transfer portal window opening on Saturday, one former Auburn linebacker has announced the program that he will be playing for next season.

[autotag]Kameron Brown[/autotag], a linebacker that saw limited action in four seasons at Auburn, announced Thursday that he will be transferring to Chattanooga to finish his college career.

Brown declared his intent to transfer away from Auburn last month by announcing that he would be using his remaining eligibility as a graduate student. He signed with Auburn as part of the 2019 recruiting class as a three-star linebacker from Lanier High School in Sugar Hill, Georgia. He is also the brother of former Auburn defensive lineman, [autotag]Derrick Brown[/autotag].

Brown saw limited field time during his four seasons at Auburn. He was used as a reserve linebacker from 2020-22 and played in one game in 2020 against Arkansas. Because he is a graduate transfer, he will be eligible to transfer immediately as he pursues his master of business arts degree.

RELATED: Live updates of Auburn Tigers in the transfer portal

Brown is the 11th member of the 2022 roster that has entered the transfer portal. Several names that have found new homes include [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] (Incarnate Word), [autotag]Keiondre Jones[/autotag] (Florida State), and [autotag]A.D. Diamond[/autotag] (UAB).

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Auburn football loses linebacker to transfer portal

The junior LB will leave as a graduate of Auburn University.

As spring football begins to wind down at Auburn, one linebacker has announced his intention to transfer after he graduates this spring.

[autotag]Kameron Brown[/autotag], a former three-star linebacker from Lanier High School in Buford, Georgia, has announced that he will enter the transfer portal as a graduate student. Brown followed his brother, former Auburn defensive lineman, [autotag]Derrick Brown[/autotag], to Auburn as a member of the 2019 class.

Brown saw limited field time during his four seasons at Auburn. He was used as a reserve linebacker from 2020-22 and played in one game in 2020 against Arkansas. Because he is a graduate transfer, he will be eligible to transfer immediately.

With Brown’s departure, Auburn now has 10 players from last season’s roster to transfer away from the program. Out of those 10 players, seven of them have found new homes including [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] (Incarnate Word), [autotag]Dazlin Worsham[/autotag] (UAB), [autotag]Keiondre Jones[/autotag] (Florida State), and [autotag]Jordon Ingram[/autotag] (Troy).

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Former Auburn WR finds new home at in-state school

The Birmingham-area native is moving closer to home after spending one season on the Plains.

After spending one season on the Plains, one former Auburn wide receiver is making a move to be closer to home.

[autotag]Dazalin Worsham[/autotag], who was a part of the 2022 roster after transferring in from Miami, has announced that he will be staying in-state, and will transfer to UAB. Worsham is a native of Trussville, and will now play college football 15 miles away from his hometown.

In his lone season at Auburn, Worsham was used sparingly. He reeled in one catch for eight yards against Arkansas on Oct. 29 and returned a total of four punts for 25 yards. According to Pro Football Focus, Worsham took part in 51 plays during the season and ended the season with a grade of 65.8.

Worsham becomes the fifth Auburn player to find a home since entering the transfer portal, and the second to make the move to UAB. Earlier this month, CB [autotag]A.D. Diamond[/autotag] announced that he would also be playing for the Blazers.

Other players to find homes include [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] (Incarnate Word), [autotag]Trey Lindsey[/autotag] (Albany), and [autotag]Keiondre Jones[/autotag] (Florida State).

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Former Auburn quarterback Zach Calzada finds transfer destination

Calzada never played a down for Auburn in his one-year stint with the team.

Former Tigers quarterback [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] has found his new home.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Tuesday that Calzada plans on transferring to Incarnate Word. The Cardinals will be Calzada’s third team in his college career, following Texas A&M and Auburn.

To say Calzada’s Auburn tenure was uneventful may be selling it short — he never played a game for the Tigers in the one season he was on the roster for Bryan Harsin. Calzada came to the Plains after a season at Texas A&M in 2021, but his tenure was marred by a shoulder injury that required surgery and thus he never saw the field where quarterbacks T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford got playing time over the course of the season. It would seem that coach Hugh Freeze didn’t have Calzada in his plans, as he entered the transfer portal and now has subsequently found a landing spot with Incarnate Word.

Incarnate Word is an FCS team, but it’s quite a successful one. The Cardinals made the FCS Championship semifinals and lost a close game to the North Dakota State Bison. Calzada, with SEC experience at Texas A&M, should be a valuable addition to the Cardinals’ roster.

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Hugh Freeze, Spencer Sanders reportedly in contact

After NC State QB Devin Leary signed with Kentucky, Hugh Freeze is seeking another quarterback option from the transfer portal.

Auburn enters the offseason with a lack of depth at the quarterback position.

[autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] and [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag] remain from last season’s roster following the departures of [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] and [autotag]Trey Lindsey[/autotag] to the transfer portal. Mix that in with the mysterious future of [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag], and the freshness of 2023 signee [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag], and Auburn will need to add a quarterback with some sort of experience.

“Yes, we are (going to seek a transfer QB),” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said during his early signing period press conference on Wednesday. “If it’s the right one, that we believe we can win games with.”

The next biggest name tied to Auburn is former Oklahoma State quarterback [autotag]Spencer Sanders[/autotag] according to Nathan King of Auburn Undercover.

Sanders, who entered the transfer portal in early December, would be a solid fit in Freeze’s system due to his success as a passer. In four seasons at Oklahoma State, Sanders passed for 9,553 yards and 67 TD. He is also a threat with his feet, as he has added 1,956 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns to his career total.

Sanders is the next name to watch following former NC State quarterback [autotag]Devin Leary[/autotag]’s signing with Kentucky. Leary visited Auburn prior to the start of the early signing period but elected to sign with the Wildcats. Coastal Carolina’s [autotag]Grayson McCall[/autotag] has also been a hot name to follow, however, he canceled a trip to Auburn due to an “academic snag” according to Jeffrey Lee of Auburn Live.

Auburn has inked two additions from the transfer portal since Dec. 5, former Vanderbilt EDGE rusher [autotag]Elijah McAllister[/autotag] and former FIU tight end [autotag]Rivaldo Fairweather[/autotag].

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D.J. Uiagalelei to the Plains? One expert believes Auburn is a great fit

Auburn is in the market for a transfer quarterback. Could the ex-Clemson signal-caller get a fresh start under Hugh Freeze?

The transfer portal officially opened on Monday. While Auburn did not take as big of a hit as many programs did, they are in the hunt to boost several key areas.

One of those positions is quarterback. [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag], who missed the 2022 season due to a shoulder injury, has announced that he will enter the transfer portal. His departure leaves Auburn with three scholarship quarterbacks, which could decrease even more if [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] elects to enter the portal, as rumors suggest.

There are several strong options in the portal, including NC State’s Devin Leary and Western Kentucky’s Austin Reed. However, there is one transfer candidate that ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg feels is a good fit for the Tigers.

After recent struggles at Clemson, quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei has elected to get a fresh start elsewhere. Rittenberg explains why he and Auburn could pair well together.

Uiagalelei visited the Plains during his recruitment back in 2018, and might consider returning there to suit up for Tigers coach Hugh Freeze. Auburn certainly needs more competition at quarterback, and Freeze runs a QB-friendly offense and typically stacks up talented wide receivers. Freeze’s work in transforming Malik Willis, who struggled at Auburn before transferring to Liberty, likely will appeal to Uiagalelei and his camp.

He would get a chance to play in the SEC and develop his game against top defenders. Clemson and Auburn also have many similarities, so the environment wouldn’t be a big adjustment for Uiagalelei. Auburn should regain Robby Ashford, who showed some promise this season, and added an ESPN 300 recruit earlier this year in Holden Geriner. But there’s not much depth in the quarterback room.

Uiagalelei enrolled at Clemson as the No. 1 quarterback from the 2020 recruiting cycle from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California. He was expected to live up to the expectations of former Clemson quarterbacks Tahj Boyd, Deshaun Watson, and Trevor Lawrence. He appeared to be on his way to doing just that when he passed for 439 yards and two touchdowns in relief of Lawrence during a losing effort to Notre Dame in 2020.

However, his Clemson career did not pan out as he intended. He took over the starting job in 2021, where he threw for 2,246 yards, nine touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He improved in 2022 by tossing 22 touchdown passes to just seven interceptions, but a struggling performance against South Carolina, where he completed just 8-of-29 passes for 99 yards, was enough for head coach Dabo Swinney to bench Uiagalelei for freshman Cade Klubnik. Klubik would start the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina, thus closing the book on Uiagalelei’s career at Clemson.

Florida, Oregon, and Notre Dame are among other programs that Rittenberg believes Uiagalelei could be a great fit for.

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Auburn quarterback enters transfer portal

Zach Calzada never played a down for the Auburn Tigers.

It’s been a hectic day for college football’s transfer portal across all positions, and the Auburn Tigers didn’t make it out unscathed.

On3 reported Monday that quarterback [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag], who transferred to Auburn from Texas A&M before the season began, has entered the transfer portal for a second time. Calzada started 10 games at Texas A&M in 2021, his most notable game being a victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Calzada’s saga at Auburn was somewhat bizarre, as he never played a down for the Tigers after transferring in. A lingering shoulder injury kept him from playing in the team’s spring game and he eventually had a procedure on it in September that ended his season. Despite this, there were still games where Calzada was dressed during the season, though he never seemed to be in line for any playing time across the year.

Calzada is the second Auburn quarterback to go for the portal, as T.J. Finley distanced himself from the team earlier this year. While the motives behind Calzada’s transfer are unclear, it may be worthwhile to see what new head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] plans to do with the transfer portal as he continues to build his staff at Auburn in preparation for his first season with the team in 2023.

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Auburn among top destinations for transfer portal quarterbacks

Hugh Freeze’s record of quarterback development has made Auburn a top spot in the transfer market.

The transfer portal is officially open for business, and Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] looks to take full advantage.

During his introductory press conference on Nov. 29, Freeze says he believes that he can right the ship reasonably quickly thanks to Auburn’s success in raising funds for NIL, and with help from the transfer portal.

“Ten years ago, you didn’t have that, and so the turnaround is a little different. Kids couldn’t just leave a school and come to Auburn. They can now,” Freeze said. “I do think we’ve got to be careful to get the right kids that fit our culture, but at the same time, it’s much easier to add to your roster now than it was when I took over at Ole Miss and they hadn’t won an SEC game in two years. Obviously, we were going to some New Year’s Six Bowls in year three and four, so I see no reason why with the current structure we can’t do this fairly fast.”

Auburn needs help in a few areas, one of which will be the quarterback position.

Auburn’s current depth chart is filled with transfer quarterbacks, including [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] and [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag]. Ashford became the full-time starter during Auburn’s overtime win over Missouri in September and found success running the football. However, his passing game needs a little more work. Calzada transferred from Texas A&M last offseason but missed the entire 2022 season due to a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery.

There is still a chance that both quarterbacks could be in the hunt to earn the starting job in 2023 but with Freeze’s history of developing quarterbacks, Auburn could be a destination for those signal-callers in the market for a new home.

Isaac Trotter of 247Sports has listed Auburn as a top destination for quarterbacks that currently reside in the transfer portal, and says that Freeze will be keeping an eye out for solid options behind center.

Part of that equation has to factor in the quarterback play. Auburn freshman quarterback Robby Ashford flashed some big-time potential with his legs (710 rushing yards, seven touchdowns), but he had some growing pains as a passer (dead-last among qualified SEC quarterbacks with a 49.7 quarterback rating). Ashford and Freeze both have to commit to each other before it’s safe to assume Ashford is the quarterback of the future. Until that happens, Freeze will undoubtedly be monitoring the quarterback market.

Wisconsin, Notre Dame, SMU, and Miami are among other programs that are seen as top transfer destinations for quarterbacks.

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Auburn vs. Arkansas: Injury report ahead of Saturday’s game

Here is a list of those who are expected to miss Saturday’s game between the Tigers and Razorbacks.

The Auburn Tigers return to the field on Saturday to face the Arkansas Razorbacks at Jordan-Hare Stadium for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff.

Both teams are coming off of a bye week, which is usually a good time for those with injuries to heal. The bye week came at a good time for Arkansas, who were missing a few defensive backs before the bye week due to injury.

During Monday’s press conference, Pittman revealed the news that Myles Slusher, Latavious Brini, and Malik Chavis received favorable reports ahead of the Auburn game.

“We’re gonna look at (Myles) Slusher today in (individual) and see how he can progress or how much better he is,” Pittman said in his Monday press conference. “We feel like he’s gonna be fine. Khari (Johnson) will be back and hopefully, we can get Malik (Chavis) back no later than tomorrow. Hopefully (Latavious) Brini’s ankle that’s been bothering him for five or six weeks now, hopefully, it’s healed. We’ll know a little bit more about that.”

Pittman also said that offensive linemen Ty’Kieast Crawford and Marcus Henderson are practicing this week, and that wide receiver Jadon Haselwood is fine after getting “dinged up” in the BYU game on Oct. 15.

For Auburn, [autotag]Eku Leota[/autotag], [autotag]Tate Johnson[/autotag], and [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] are each still expected to miss the regular season due to having surgery to repair their respective injuries. Head coach Bryan Harsin added a new name to the mix during his Monday press conference.

“Jordon Ingram is out. He had a lateral meniscus tear in practice, which was kind of a fluke deal. It was on a pass-catching drill and he just kind of landed on it wrong, so he had surgery and he’s out,” Harsin said. “He is out for three to four months, so obviously that is season-ending for him. Everybody else I’ve told you before that’s been injured, those guys are still injured and are out and other guys are just banged up.”

Here is a look at the full injury report ahead of Saturday’s game on the Plains.