The Auburn Daily Staff predicts who will win Auburn's quarterback battle

The question that everyone has been asking since Zach Calzada and Robby Ashford transferred to Auburn to compete with TJ Finley for the starting quarterback job will finally be answered in the coming weeks.

A week out from the start of fall camp, the Auburn Daily staff wanted to each share their thoughts on who could win the starting quarterback battle between Calzada, Finley, and Ashford.

There are arguments for all three signal callers. Calzada had a fairly successful season after being thrown into the fire last season at Texas A&M. Finley has experience in the Bryan Harsin offense including some starts at LSU and last year with Auburn. Ashford stole the hearts of several Auburn fans during his A-Day performance this spring with his dual-threat ability and winning offensive MVP.

Here's what the Auburn Daily staff said about their prediction on who will win the quarterback job. We also have a guest contributor in Auburn message board legend Charlie5 with his pick.

Zac Blackerby - Zach Calzada

Calzada is the favorite going into fall camp and based on all reports throughout the off-season, he’s been putting in the work with the wide receivers and running backs to help this offense take a step forward from a year ago.

Finley had a chance to separate himself from the pick in the spring and it doesn’t seem like he did enough to place him as the favorite. I think Calzada is named the starter before the Tigers face Mercer.

Lance Dawe - Zach Calzada

Calzada appears to be the frontrunner to win the starting job as the Tigers get closer to the start of fall camp. Bryan Harsin praised Calzada's work ethic at SEC Media Days, going on about his leadership, focus, and attention to detail when asked what Calzada's spot in the QB room was.

Oregon transfer Robby Ashford is still in the mix, and according to Harsin there will be scenarios when Ashford (or a second QB) will be called upon to run certain packages.

Almost nothing has been said about TJ Finley, who had a golden opportunity to take advantage of his situation back in the spring. Being the only quarterback on roster to have played a year in the system does not seem to have helped his case. It doesn't sound like Finley done much to separate himself.

Calzada's drive and commitment to winning the starting job will eventually earn him the position. Barring injury, this is Auburn's guy.

Charlie5 - Zach Calzada

You don’t bring in two QB transfers if you feel confident in the “incumbent” starter. TJ had an opportunity to solidify or win the job to end the season and throughout spring and we had legitimate discussions on it Robby Ashford outperformed him in the Spring Game.

Calzada has NFL tools and big game winning experience. He had equivalent PFF grades as Bo Nix last season in his first season as a starter when he was thrown into the mix after an injury and played hurt for most of the year. He’s already taken a leadership role and seems to have earned the respect of his teammates in short fashion.

Barring injury…Calzada should start game one.

Andrew Stefaniak - Zach Calzada

Calzada has been putting in a ton of work this summer and has built strong connections with the skill position players. He is a competitor and hates losing more than he loves winning. I believe he will beat out TJ Finley and Robby Ashford for the starting job then go on to have a great year for a team that will shock a ton of people.

Trey Lee - Zach Calzada

Zach Calzada didn’t transfer to sit on the bench. I believe if Calzada is was practicing during the spring, he would’ve already been named the starter. He has the intangibles and skill set that fits well in this pro-style system. I think Harsin will give all the QBs a few weeks to duke it out before inevitably naming Calzada the starter for Week one.

Lindsay Crosby - Zach Calzada

Zach Calzada has a few factors going for him:

He's the most proven quarterback, with his playing time at Texas A&M comparing favorably to TJ Finley's starts as LSU and Auburn. (Ashford having no playtime at Oregon doesn't help his case, either.)

Calzada and Ashford both have the highest ceilings, but based on the previous experience we've seen, appears to have both a higher floor than TJ Finley and a quicker learning curve than Robbie Ashford.

The knock on Calzada - lack of playtime in Spring practice - has been mitigated through his offseason workouts with different receivers over the summer, which has helped build the rapport he missed with the shoulder injury in spring.

It's in writing. All of our writers believe that Calzada will start for the Auburn Tigers.

Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials!

Join the Discord

Follow Auburn Daily on Twitter

Like Auburn Daily on Facebook

Subscribe to Locked On Auburn on YouTube

Buy Auburn Daily Merch