Zach Calzada – Page 5 – Syndication Server

CBS Sports names top transfer for every SEC team

Who do you think is Auburn’s most important transfer?

The transfer portal has quickly become an integral part of roster building in college football. The portal allows teams to do everything from adding a proven playmaker or filling out the depth chart at a key position.

Auburn has not shied away from using the portal under Bryan Harsin. The Tigers added nine players through the portal in his first season and have already added nine for the 2022 season. The Tigers are far from the only team doing so, teams across the country are using the portal to put the finishing touches on their roster.

With so many additions it can be tough to figure out which player will have the biggest impact for the Tigers, but Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports thinks it will be former Texas A&M quarterback [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag].

The former Texas A&M quarterback started 10 games in 2021 and led the Aggies to a shocking victory over No. 1 Alabama. Now, he is the frontrunner to win the Tigers starting quarterback job in August

Calzada, who Harsin recently called a “full go”, was limited in the spring with a shoulder injury but has a great shot at winning the starting quarterback job this summer.

Here are Sallee’s picks for the top transfer for every SEC team. Georgia was not included because they have not added a transfer.

Alabama: RB Jahmyr Gibbs

Arkansas: LB Drew Sanders

LSU: QB Jayden Daniels

Ole Miss: QB Jaxson Dart

South Carolina: QB Spencer Rattler

Florida: OL O’Cyrus Torrence

Kentucky: WR Tayvion Robinson

Mississippi State: DB Jackie Matthews

Missouri: RB Nathaniel Peat

Tennessee: Bru McCoy

Texas A&M: QB Max Johnson

Vanderbilt: DB Jeremy Lucien

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Where each SEC quarterback situation ranks in ESPN’s QB tiers

ESPN places every CFB QB into a tier, so where do the ones from the SEC land?

In recent years, the SEC has become one of the strongest quarterback conferences in the nation. Last season’s Heisman winner, [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag], was a quarterback in the SEC and will look to repeat that feat in 2022.

All 14 teams have unique quarterback situations. Whether it be a solidified starter like Young with the Crimson Tide, or maybe an all-out battle in Missouri to see who will be their lead passer.

ESPN took that into account and many other factors when putting together a tier-ranking system for every Division I quarterback in the nation.

While the entire list offers explanations and details for nearly every program and their quarterback’s, let’s take a look at how the SEC currently stands.

Auburn quarterbacks don’t rank high in this new tier list

The future is murky under center for the Tigers.

The Auburn Tigers quarterback battle continues to get press, and probably not the kind head coach [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] was hoping for.

A new quarterback tier list by ESPN put all of college football’s quarterbacks in a series of 25 tiers, and Auburn’s situation wasn’t looked on the most favorably. The list put both expected starter [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] and backup [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] in the 14th tier of the list, which they referred to as potential “diamonds in the rough”.

Here is what the list had to say about Auburn’s quarterbacks:

Calzada struggled often at Texas A&M last year, and Finley appeared lost for long stretches in a backup role behind Nix. Both would need to take a huge step forward to dramatically alter Auburn’s offensive futility.

It’s certainly true that Auburn’s quarterback situation is in flux. Calzada will already likely be considered a hero around Auburn’s campus for his victory over rivals Alabama last season, but his season as a whole was marred with inconsistency that will leave fans far more worried than pleased. Finley, meanwhile, has never particularly stood out at any school he has been to, and a shakey showing at the spring game will also leave fans with a lack of confidence heading into this year.

It’ll be up to Harsin to make his choice before Auburn squares off against Mercer on Sept. 3 to open the season.

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Auburn quarterback Zach Calzada is a ‘full go’

It appears the QB battle is about to officially begin.

In a very tumultuous offseason, the Auburn Tigers lost their starting quarterback of the last three seasons, Bo Nix. He opted to enter the transfer portal and head west to Eugene, Oregon. Ironically enough, former Oregon Ducks quarterback Robby Ashford wanted to return home to Alabama, as he transferred to Auburn.

Ashford wasn’t the only quarterback that decided to come to the Plains, former Texas A&M Aggies passer [autotag]Zach Calzada[/autotag] also chose to play for the Tigers. He was the quarterback of record when the Aggies and Tigers faced off in November of 2021.

Calzada bested Auburn that day but suffered a shoulder injury during the game. It is that shoulder injury that kept the new Auburn signal-caller out of the spring game. Head coach Bryan Harsin laughed a bit about the situation.

“Somebody was asking me last night: It’s funny, because in a way, the game he played against us is when he really got banged up, and now we have him on the roster, right?” Harsin said. “So you’re sitting there kind of looking at it like, damn. It’s just kind of one of those things that you hope he hadn’t gotten injured, and he could have gotten some more reps in the spring. But he’s really been pushing himself and studying and preparing, so now it’s just a matter of letting him get out there this summer.”

There hasn’t been a decision made on the quarterback battle between Calzada, Ashford, and TJ Finley. It seemed as though Harsin wasn’t in a big hurry to make a decision as they waited on their new quarterback to get medical clearance to compete for the job.

“It’s full-go,” Harsin said. “He’s got to be ready to play. If he’s one of the guys that we kind of narrow it down and he’s one of the top guys, then we’ll get him ready to play.”

With summer workouts approaching, it is the perfect timing for the news. We are getting closer to a decision being made and Calzada has as good of a chance to start as anyone. It might come down to Calzada or Ashford but Finley is the guy that started the final three games of the season.

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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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USA TODAY Sports names a winner and loser from Auburn’s spring practice

It is hard to argue with either of these decisions.

Spring football has ended across the country and we can now take a look at how each team’s standing after the practices.

As always some players performed better than expected and increased their stock. But if someone improved their stock then someone’s standing had to decrease. This is true for every team across the SEC and USA TODAY Sports reporter Bennett Durrando named his biggest winner and loser for Auburn.

His biggest winner of the spring was running back coach Cadillac Williams who was a key reason the Tank Bigsby, Auburn’s top offensive player, is still on the Plains.

Running backs coach Cadillac Williams kept Tank Bigsby around after the offense’s best player considered entering (but never did enter) the transfer portal. Now Williams gets to coach him in an even bigger role as the Tigers shifted their emphasis to Tank-first this spring.

Bigsby rushed for 1,099 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore. Despite surpassing the 1,000-yard mark, many expected more from Bigsby after looking like one of the best running backs in the SEC as a freshman. But a running back depends on his offensive line and Auburn’s took a step back last season, making Bigsby’s job that much harder.

The biggest loser to Durrando was Zach Calzada, who was limited in spring with a shoulder injury and is expected to contend for the starting quarterback job once healthy.

Transfer quarterback Zach Calzada didn’t play in the spring game (shoulder). He’ll be healthy soon with a chance to start, but the injury left room for Robby Ashford’s impressive A-Day.

Entering spring practices Auburn had a battle for the starting quarterback back job with all five scholarship quarterbacks having a chance to win the job. Making the competition even tougher was Calzada’s injury, preventing him from doing the same drills as the rest of the contenders.

This allowed Ashford a bigger opportunity and he took advantage. He completed 12-of-16 passes for 132 yards and showcased his rushing ability against the first-team defense and was named the A-Day offensive MVP.

Calzada will have a chance to show why the coaching staff brought him in this offseason when he is fully healthy in the fall.

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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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.

Auburn football ranked near bottom of SEC spring power rankings

The ranking cited Auburn’s uncertainties at receiver and the quarterback position.

Power rankings begin to come as teams get ready for the spring every year, and one power ranking has the Auburn Tigers far down the order.

In Athlon Sports’ spring 2022 power rankings, Auburn came in at 12th — higher than only Missouri at 13th and Vanderbilt in last. On the offensive side of the ball, the ranking particularly noted the Tigers’ lack of receiving threats after the team’s wave of transfers during the offseason and their current uncertainty at the quarterback position.

The Tigers have a strong one-two punch at running back with Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter. However, can coach Bryan Harsin get consistent quarterback play out of Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada or another option? More weapons at receiver must be developed.

The concerns are valid. With receiver Kobe Hudson gone and wideout Ja’Varrius Johnson potentially leaving, Auburn desperately needs to find a solution for its lack of firepower before the season begins. New transfer Zach Calzada had a largely mediocre campaign in 2021 with 17 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 56.1 completion percentage. Calzada, should he even win the job in camp over other Auburn QBs like T.J Finley, will have to put in a stronger performance if Auburn is to succeed this coming season.

On the defensive side of the ball, the ranking is far more optimistic, mentioning that it was one of the bright spots for the Tigers in 2021.

This unit was a strength for Harsin in 2021 by holding teams to 21.8 points a game. There’s a new coordinator (Jeff Schmedding) and standouts Zakoby McClain, Roger McCreary and Smoke Monday have departed. Spring practice is all about transitioning to Schmedding’s scheme, as well as plugging key gaps and developing depth.

Although there are sure to be growing pains with a different coordinator and a loss of players, Bryan Harsin will certainly try and replicate last seasons’ defensive prowess as a key point for his Auburn team.