Zach Calzada – Page 6 – Syndication Server

Auburn quarterback Zach Calzada mentioned among 2022 clutch performers

Can Zach Calzada be a clutch quarterback for an Auburn team that has inexperience on the outside?

A new era will begin this upcoming season for the Auburn Tigers. A new quarterback will be under center on the Plains for the 2022 college football season. The question remains as to who will take hold of the starting role.

We know the top candidates led by returning starter from the last three games, TJ Finley. He is joined by a pair of Power Five transfers in Oregon’s Robby Ashford and Texas A&M’s Zach Calzada. The battle was listed among 247Sports’ most intriguing quarterback battles of the spring.

While many believe that ultimately Calzada will win the job, Bleacher Report recently listed him as a top clutch performer in 2022. He joins Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young and Georgia Bulldogs defensive back Kelee Ringo as the trio of SEC players to make the list.

What Bleacher Report Says…

Auburn will have a new addition to its quarterback room in 2022 in Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada. In 2021, Calzada finished the year with 2,185 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

But Calzada will be remembered for his impressive performance against then-No. 1 Alabama.

Although TAMU led 24-10 at halftime, this game had a wild finish. With five minutes left in the fourth, Alabama took a 38-31 lead—its first lead since the first quarter. But Calzada responded by putting together a 65-yard touchdown drive that tied the game at 38 with three minutes to go.

Calzada subsequently went into the injury tent after taking a big shot on his touchdown pass to Ainias Smith. Following a Bama three-and-out, Calzada came out of the tent and went back on the field. He drove the Aggies offense down to Alabama’s 30 to set up a game-winning field goal to complete the thrilling upset.

With an inexperienced group at wide receiver, the quarterback play will be monumental for the Tigers’ success in 2022. Calzada lost the starting job to freshman Haynes King but ultimately became the starter after King went down with an injury against the Colorado Buffaloes.

He was hit or miss for most of the season but rose to the occasion against the Crimson Tide. Head coach Bryan Harsin needs him to be more of the quarterback they saw against Auburn’s biggest rivals and less of the quarterback from the rest of the 2021 season.

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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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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:

The SEC’s top returning quarterbacks ranked by production

Who are the top 10 returning QBs in the SEC?

The quarterback situation in the SEC is definitely one to monitor as we march towards spring football.

The group is led by Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young as he returns after winning the Heisman Trophy for his performance in 2021. He will be looking to get that national championship trophy on his resume as well. He won as the backup but can he do it as the starter?

Other notable returning quarterbacks include Will Rogers (Mississippi State), Will Levis (Kentucky), and Stetson Bennett (Georgia). We also have a list of familiar faces in new places. Former LSU quarterback Max Johnson heads west to Texas A&M.

Auburn added former Aggies quarterback Zach Calzada, who will be in a battle with Robby Ashford (Oregon Ducks), and former transfer TJ Finley.

We broke down the returning quarterbacks’ rankings based on their 2021 production.

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.

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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Does data meet the perception of Auburn’s transfer portal additions/subtractions

Auburn is in better standing than expected per the data from Brandon Marcello.

In any transaction at any level of sports, there is a winner and a loser more often than not. It can be subjective based on the information made available. The Auburn Tigers have seen a mass exodus at the team level and on the coaching staff.

Our focus here will be on the talent of the 2022 football. Team, it is well documented as far as the losses through the transfer portal. At the very top, the team lost veteran quarterback Bo Nix to the Oregon Ducks and leading receiver Kobe Hudson to the Central Florida Knights. The perception is that Auburn is hemorrhaging talent.

On the flip side, they added 2021 Texas A&M starting quarterback Zach Calzada that led the Aggies to an 8-4 record and defeated Alabama in College Station. They also added a former four-star quarterback with Oregon’s Robby Ashford. He didn’t play for the Ducks but he will battle Calzada and former LSU Tigers quarterback TJ Finley, who joined the team last season.

The team also added a pair of Duck defenders to the team that should be in line to make a contribution. Jayson Jones will help beef up the interior of the defensive line. He tallied 19 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, and 1.5 sacks in 10 games with Oregon. The 6’6″ 310-pound interior defender should have ample opportunities.

Much like Jones, DJ James returns to his home state of Alabama to play for the Tigers. He racked up 72 tackles and six passes defended for the Oregon defense. With the loss of Roger McCreary to the NFL and Dreshun Miller to the portal, he could see immediate playing time. James appeared in 12 games for the Ducks in 2021.

Brandon Marcello of 247Sports gathered the data on the comings and goings through the transfer portal and despite the perception of Auburn, the Tigers were better than others in the portal.

What Marcello Says…

Five departures rank higher than Auburn’s top incoming transfer (Oregon defensive lineman Jayson Jones).

Still, if Auburn can work the portal and find a handful of replacements, the Tigers’ net rating will improve and the Tigers will rise. The sheer number of departures is concerning but the quality of incoming talent is not terrible as some believe.

Auburn came in ranked at No. 11 in the SEC. Georgia was dead last as they added no players in the transfer portal. The team also came ahead of LSU in the rankings, who were No. 12. LSU has been among the top teams in the transfer portals, but the data says otherwise.

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Spring Preview: A look at the Auburn quarterback battle

This is going to be an intense position battle.

For the second straight season, Auburn will have a spring quarterback competition.

Auburn has five scholarship quarterbacks on the roster and to varying degrees, each can make an argument as to why they should win the job. Adding even more credence to this being a wide-open battle, Auburn has added three quarterbacks this offseason in Zach Calzada, Robby Ashford, and Holden Geriner.

This will be an interesting battle to watch and without an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach, this race could change depending on who is hired.

The sooner that the Bryan Harsin situation is finally put to rest the team can move forward towards the spring. They also have to address plenty of coaching positions such as who is calling the plays and what offense they will run.

Before any of that is addressed, we preview the quarterbacks.