Harsin hopes to name starting QB in August

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Bryan Harsin hopes to name starting QB in August

By Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com

3 minutes

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Bryan Harsin enters his second season as the Auburn football coach with a vital decision to make at the most critical position on his squad. TJ Finley, Texas A&M transfer Zac Calzada, Oregon transfer Robby Ashford, and freshman Holden Geriner are vying to be the Tigers starting quarter when the season begins in less than four months with a game against Mercer at Jordan-Hare.

Harsin met some reporters Wednesday before a speaking engagement with Bruce Pearl at an alumni event in Atlanta near Lenox Mall.

The head coach didn’t name a starter or reveal which quarterback was in the lead; however, Harsin offered some insight into the decision-making process.

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“We’re going to decide in August,” Harsin said. “We haven’t named a starter coming out of spring practice because once you learn from what you did in those 15 practices, once you get the eval information from your position coach and your head coach, the guys will take that and go run with it.”

Harsin praised each quarterback for their hard work during spring football and believes one of the four will emerge from the pack as the starter.

“There wasn’t one guy who showed up out there who was not prepared to operate the offense,” Harsin said. “They weren’t perfect. They made mistakes; they failed certain times, which is exactly what you would expect since they’re trying new things. However, they responded well. I like how they handled adversity. I also like how they managed their successes well.”

Finley has the most experience at Auburn and took most of the first-team reps in the media viewing periods and during the first half of the A-Day game.

Ashford won the MVP of the spring game and showed elite speed with a nice arm. Calzada didn’t get to participate fully since he’s recovering from a shoulder injury to his non-throwing arm. Geriner is a talented freshman who threw a nice touchdown pass to Landen King on the final drive of the spring game.

“What these guys do during the summer will determine where they end up in August,” Harsin said. “You’re going to see these guys make huge strides through the summer, and then come August, they’ll be playing at a high level. Whoever the best guy will be the guy we choose to go out there and play.”

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.