Tag: Zach Calzada

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

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

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…

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

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.

Which new SEC West quarterbacks have the best chance to start

Previewing the new faces around the SEC West.

In the SEC West division, we have a lot of new faces in familiar places. In Baton Rouge, they have Myles Brennan and Garrett Nussmeier returning while adding 2022 five-star quarterback Walker Howard.

As a whole, we could see new starters in five of those seven schools. The Alabama Crimson Tide will return Bryce Young and Mississippi State Bulldogs have Will Rogers. We can skip past those quarterback situations, but we will circle back to Alabama in a moment.

A familiar face in a new place is former LSU quarterback Max Johnson, who started 15 straight games for the Tigers over two seasons. He now heads into another quarterback battle in College Station. The Aggies lost starter Zach Calzada to the Auburn Tigers, who lost Bo Nix to the Oregon Ducks.

The. transfer portal has completely changed the landscape. As we prepare for spring football coming up, we review the new faces at quarterback in the SEC West. Which ones have the best opportunity to start in 2022? We attempt to forecast them all.

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.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYZohC6uip-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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Two more quarterbacks have entered the transfer portal, more LSU options

Two more quarterbacks enter the transfer portal.

The transfer portal is continuing to grow by the minute with quarterbacks. The biggest name to enter and exit was former Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers as he decided to go back home to Texas and play for the Longhorns. Late last night it was announced that Auburn quarterback Bo Nix would put his name in.

We have explored the idea of Nix joining the LSU Tigers to give some experience to a room that has zero career starts between freshman Garrett Nussmeier and incoming freshman Walker Howard. Not that either Nussmeier or Howard couldn’t handle the starting role, there is just quite a bit of the unknown with these two young gunslingers.

Two more names have since joined the transfer portal. Former USC quarterback from Scottsdale, Arizona, Kedon Slovis has joined the group of signal-callers in the portal. He likely wasn’t going to be in the plans with the Trojans, who have a new head coach in Lincoln Riley. You can also factor in the young gun, Jaxon Dart who is viewed as the future at quarterback in Southern Cal.

Slovis appeared in 27 games over his three seasons with the Trojans. During that time he accumulated 7,576 yards, 58 touchdowns to 24 interceptions while completing 68.4% of his passes. He would definitely check the box under the experienced category. He wasn’t recruited by Kelly while at Notre Dame, so we don’t necessarily know if he has been on their radar. Just one more passer to look at.

Then you have a quarterback that the LSU defense just faced in Zach Calzada of A&M.

Calzada came in relief of Haynes King after suffering an injury against the Colorado Buffaloes early in the season. He would lead the improbable victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide earlier in the year. He completed 56.1% of his passes this year with 2,185 yards and a 17-9 touchdown-interceptions ratio. The redshirt sophomore could be another option if LSU does look to bring in a transfer or two this offseason.

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Texas A&M shocks No. 1 Alabama on field goal as time expires

Texas A&M stunned top-ranked Alabama on a field goal as time expired

Quarterback Zach Calzada went from the blue medical tent to aside Johnny Manziel in Texas A&M football lore.

The backup quarterback injured on the game-tying touchdown drive in the fourth quarter entered the medical tent, walked out with two thumbs up, and directed a drive that gave Texas A&M a shocking 41-38 victory over top-ranked Alabama Saturday in College Station.

The winning points came off the foot of Seth Small, who hit from 28 yards as time ran out. Texas A&M came into the game as an 18-point favorite, having lost its previous two games to Arkansas and Mississippi State.

The upset ended Alabama’s 19-game winning streak and snapped Coach Nick Saban’s mark of having gone 24-0 against his former assistant coaches. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher was once a Saban aide.

Also, Alabama’s streak of 100 straight wins over unranked teams ended.

Small had missed two field goals in the 2020 game with Alabama, which A&M lost by 28 points.

The Aggies owned the first half, leading 24-10 at the break.

The only offense they could muster until the final two drives in the second half was a 96-yard kickoff return for a TD by Devon Achane that made it 31-17.

Meanwhile, Alabama methodically moved the ball, eventually taking a 38-31 lead on a blown coverage by A&M.

However, Calzada found Ainias Smith with a 25-yard pass with 3 minutes left. The PAT tied the game.

Calzada then went into the blue tent and came out as Superman, directing an 8-play, 54-yard drive that culminated in the big kick by Small.

The upset was reminiscent of the 2012 game when Johnny Manziel led A&M to an upset of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

It also made a prophet of Fisher, who said over the summer, “We’re going to beat his ass when he’s there, don’t worry,” to school boosters.

Saban had quipped at what, golf?

Fisher and the Aggies made the coach’s boast come true … quickly.