Robby Ashford Embraces Being QB for Auburn

[toddc 13,194]

PMARSHONAU: It won't be easy, but Auburn's Ashford accepts challenge

7 hours ago

 

 It’s not easy being an Auburn quarterback, on the field or off it. It was hard before the days of social media. It’s worse now. Ben Leard, Jason Campbell, Brandon Cox and even Nick Marshall and Bo Nix went through it on the way to great Auburn days. And then there were those quarterbacks of whom much was expected that were not successful.

Now, it’s Robby Ashford’s turn. It's not easy, but Ashford embraces the challenge. He welcomes the arrival of first-year Auburn coach Hugh Freeze.

“I feel like me and Coach Freeze are going to be a great dynamic duo,” Ashford said. “I’m excited. We got national championships, SEC titles, whatever you can think of. We’re going to bring it to Auburn. And we’re going to do it with Coach Freeze. So, it’s just time to get to work.”

In the social media world, Ashford can’t throw, can’t read defenses, turns the ball over too much etc., etc. Since it doesn’t fit the narrative, few mention that he played most of the season with a painful injury to his throwing shoulder. Few mention the 300-yard passing games and some really outstanding throws he made.

Yes, as many like to point out, he’s headed for his fourth year of college football. But he’s headed toward his second season of playing college quarterback.

Most players improve over their college careers. Some improve more than others. New coaches and new schemes change everything. Assuming that quarterbacks – or any other players – will be the same the next time you see them on the field as they were the last time – is foolhardy.

I don’t know if Ashford will be Auburn’s starting quarterback. I don’t know if he will have competition from a transfer. Heck, for all I know or any fan knows, Holden Geriner might blossom in the spring practice.

It is easy to say players should simply ignore social media, but it’s not realistic. Today’s college students live in on social media. Criticism, especially when it turns nasty, hurts. It just does. It’s especially frustrating because they know that most of the people doing the criticism have no idea what they are talking about.

The importance of quarterbacks in the modern game can’t be understated. But what people believe they see is not always reality. No one can tell from afar whether a receiver ran the wrong route, the running back went the wrong way, an offensive lineman misses a block or makes the wrong block, whether the play-caller made a bad decision, whether the defensive coordinator made the right call at the right time.

Football is a violently physical game, but it’s a mental game, too. The quarterback is the most important player on the field, but he’s not the only important player. And he cannot win games alone.

19COMMENTS

What I saw of Ashford is this: He is an elite runner and an elite competitor. He hurt his shoulder making a block. He is liked and respected by his teammates. He needs to improve his consistency throwing the ball, and there is no reason to believe that won’t happen.

If Ashford is not Auburn’s starting quarterback, it will be because someone beats him out. He won’t go without a fight.

[toddc 13,194]

Don’t usually post Phillip Marshall columns but he’s done okay with this one I think.

[Mikey 16,573]

13 minutes ago, toddc said:

If Ashford is not Auburn’s starting quarterback, it will be because someone beats him out. He won’t go without a fight.

I agree with this. I don't think Ashford will just hand the position over and accept second place. I also don't think he's the answer in the long term, but I do hope he proves me wrong. He seems to be a great guy.

[rexbo 104]

With his elite running skills, he doesn't have to improve his throwing significantly for Auburn to move the ball consistently.  Just finally having an OL will make a big difference.  We all saw what a real (although elite) OL did for Nix at Oregon...

[Hank2020 3,199]

16 hours ago, rexbo said:

With his elite running skills, he doesn't have to improve his throwing significantly for Auburn to move the ball consistently.  Just finally having an OL will make a big difference.  We all saw what a real (although elite) OL did for Nix at Oregon...

We also saw Nix’s completion percentage increase to over 70%. RA’s completion percentage must increase to be a viable candidate.

[WillMunny 1,375]

When Freeze came to AU, I thought he would get an accomplished transfer QB that would relegate Robby Ashford to 2nd string, and might even prompt him to transfer or change positions.

Since that hasn't happened, I'm anxious to see what Freeze can do for Ashford's passing skills.  Hopefully a lot.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

On 1/14/2023 at 5:50 PM, Mikey said:

I don't think Ashford will just hand the position over and accept second place.

I know you know this but who is he going to hand it to? Finley? He is not good at all. 
HG? Maybe he can surprise us but he is a redshirt freshman and has never played. 

Ashford is the only “QB” we have, and he is not good at throwing a forward pass to a receiver. 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

9 minutes ago, WillMunny said:

Since that hasn't happened, I'm anxious to see what Freeze can do for Ashford's passing skills.

You just summed up every single Auburn fans thoughts. We all are curious. 

[maryland tiger 616]

Everybody get excited now, here is the QB that is going to replace Robby.(Allegedly) 

Jake Garcia to leave Miami, enter transfer portal, sources say (espn.com)

 

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by maryland tiger

[TeamZero77 1,784]

This post won't be a popular post but I don't think Freeze and Montgomery intend on getting a QB from the portal. There a few reasons I feel this way.

1) On ESD, Freeze had a presser where he went through every signing we got and spoke about each kid 1 by 1. He said it was a good signing day but "we still need to get a few more OT's, interior D-Linemen and a couple LB's." He never mentioned getting a QB. If that was as important as we all think it should be, he would've mentioned needing a QB. A reporter then asked him if he would get a transfer QB. He said if we see a QB that fits everything we want to do and he can help us immediately, then we will look into that. To me, that doesn't say "We HAVE to have a transfer QB for 2023."

2) When Robby was interviewed after Freeze was hired he said that he and Freeze talked and that they were gonna be a great combo for one another and would bring an SEC and National title back to Auburn. (He literally said this). Robby was ecstatic over what Freeze could do with him. Take that however you want but it doesn't sound like Freeze told him that he plans on bringing in a QB from the portal to start.

3) When we have had players visit from the portal, Auburn writers usually do interviews with the player and ask about their visit. 2 or 3 weeks ago we had a WR visit from the portal. Afterwards he was interviewed and said that Freeze has Auburn headed in the right direction, the facility was amazing and that Freeze is really going to do special things with Robby Ashford and he has a history with making QB's really good. I don't remember the WR's name but will search it. He DIDN'T sign here, he just took a visit. As a WR you would definitely want to know who was going to throw you the ball. This kid only mentioned Freeze talking to him about Robby being our QB.

4) We all went through this last year. (I'm 100% guilty) We all said Harsin is going to get a starting QB from the portal. He got Calzada and we all said "that's just for depth, we will still get a top QB from the portal. We got Robby and we said "He never even played a down at Oregon. He just came to Auburn to be closer to home. We are still gonna get a top QB from the portal." Never happened. I know that Freeze is light year's ahead of Harsin but just keep that in mind that all of us thought we were getting a starter from the portal and our beat writers all told us the same but it never happened. 

5) I think this is why TJ Finley didn't enter the portal and why he returned to the team. Most on this board say TJ has to return to the team or that they will pull his scholly. So he is with the team so he can graduate soon and transfer to SE Louisiana to play with his brother. Over on The Rant, they're all saying TJ is gonna graduate and transfer but is only with the team to keep his body in football shape and to get some practice until he transfers. That in itself proves nobody truly knows what's going on. We only know TJ never transferred, never entered the portal and is back with the team. I've not read his Twitter but others say his Twitter doesn't mention anything about leaving Auburn soon.

6) There were over 120 QB's enter the transfer portal. Between our QB guru's of Fteeze, Montgomery and Austin I think we would've gotten several visits from QB's and would've had no problems finding a QB. We did just fine in the transfer portal at all other positions but as far as I know, we only had Devin Leary visit. Another question, did ANY Auburn writer get a single interview with Leary when he visited? Other visitors were interviewed after they visited but I've not read anything where Leary talked with an Auburn writer, etc. 

I may be TOTALLY wrong but I truly feel like we would've had our transfer QB by now if it was as important to Freeze and Montgomery as it seems to be with all of us. WDE

[cole256 17,042]

2 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

This post won't be a popular post but I don't think Freeze and Montgomery intend on getting a QB from the portal. There a few reasons I feel this way.

1) On ESD, Freeze had a presser where he went through every signing we got and spoke about each kid 1 by 1. He said it was a good signing day but "we still need to get a few more OT's, interior D-Linemen and a couple LB's." He never mentioned getting a QB. If that was as important as we all think it should be, he would've mentioned needing a QB. A reporter then asked him if he would get a transfer QB. He said if we see a QB that fits everything we want to do and he can help us immediately, then we will look into that. To me, that doesn't say "We HAVE to have a transfer QB for 2023."

2) When Robby was interviewed after Freeze was hired he said that he and Freeze talked and that they were gonna be a great combo for one another and would bring an SEC and National title back to Auburn. (He literally said this). Robby was ecstatic over what Freeze could do with him. Take that however you want but it doesn't sound like Freeze told him that he plans on bringing in a QB from the portal to start.

3) When we have had players visit from the portal, Auburn writers usually do interviews with the player and ask about their visit. 2 or 3 weeks ago we had a WR visit from the portal. Afterwards he was interviewed and said that Freeze has Auburn headed in the right direction, the facility was amazing and that Freeze is really going to do special things with Robby Ashford and he has a history with making QB's really good. I don't remember the WR's name but will search it. He DIDN'T sign here, he just took a visit. As a WR you would definitely want to know who was going to throw you the ball. This kid only mentioned Freeze talking to him about Robby being our QB.

4) We all went through this last year. (I'm 100% guilty) We all said Harsin is going to get a starting QB from the portal. He got Calzada and we all said "that's just for depth, we will still get a top QB from the portal. We got Robby and we said "He never even played a down at Oregon. He just came to Auburn to be closer to home. We are still gonna get a top QB from the portal." Never happened. I know that Freeze is light year's ahead of Harsin but just keep that in mind that all of us thought we were getting a starter from the portal and our beat writers all told us the same but it never happened. 

5) I think this is why TJ Finley didn't enter the portal and why he returned to the team. Most on this board say TJ has to return to the team or that they will pull his scholly. So he is with the team so he can graduate soon and transfer to SE Louisiana to play with his brother. Over on The Rant, they're all saying TJ is gonna graduate and transfer but is only with the team to keep his body in football shape and to get some practice until he transfers. That in itself proves nobody truly knows what's going on. We only know TJ never transferred, never entered the portal and is back with the team. I've not read his Twitter but others say his Twitter doesn't mention anything about leaving Auburn soon.

6) There were over 120 QB's enter the transfer portal. Between our QB guru's of Fteeze, Montgomery and Austin I think we would've gotten several visits from QB's and would've had no problems finding a QB. We did just fine in the transfer portal at all other positions but as far as I know, we only had Devin Leary visit. Another question, did ANY Auburn writer get a single interview with Leary when he visited? Other visitors were interviewed after they visited but I've not read anything where Leary talked with an Auburn writer, etc. 

I may be TOTALLY wrong but I truly feel like we would've had our transfer QB by now if it was as important to Freeze and Montgomery as it seems to be with all of us. WDE

Please tell us more all knowing and all fabricating one

[Mikey 16,573]

9 hours ago, gr82b4au said:

I know you know this but who is he going to hand it to? Finley? He is not good at all. 
HG? Maybe he can surprise us but he is a redshirt freshman and has never played. 

Ashford is the only “QB” we have, and he is not good at throwing a forward pass to a receiver. 

Please go back and read the post I was responding to.

[Mikey 16,573]

6 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

I may be TOTALLY wrong but I truly feel like we would've had our transfer QB by now if it was as important to Freeze and Montgomery as it seems to be with all of us. WDE

You may be correct. Or, maybe Freeze simply hasn't found a QB he likes better than Ashford/Geriner/Brown. We'll know by June!

[W.E.D 11,070]

15 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

I may be TOTALLY wrong

Should have led with this

[metafour 4,968]

15 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

I may be TOTALLY wrong but I truly feel like we would've had our transfer QB by now if it was as important to Freeze and Montgomery as it seems to be with all of us. WDE

You are wrong.

Freeze has inquired on at least 4-5 different QB's that would have been clear-cut starters over Ashford. 2-3 of those are guys from other schools who didn't officially enter the portal.

Your entire premise is silly, as Grayson McCall literally entered the portal with the intention of coming to Auburn...until his transcript prevented that from happening. So if Freeze had no intention of taking a QB, then what was all that about? Why was Leary from NC State brought in for a visit?

So all we know so far is that they have clearly looked for an upgrade at QB, but they have been selective about it. Please note that if TJ Finley does indeed plan on leaving as soon as he graduates after the spring, then we are at only 3 scholarship QB's (Ashford, Geriner, Hank Brown). This means that they will need to bring in a transfer QB regardless in the spring window in order to maintain 4 scholarship QB's.

[cole256 17,042]

It's amazing the things we will try to convince ourselves sometimes. I guess I don't get it, what's wrong with freeze looking for QB's? 

What coach would really come to this team and look at this roster and think we're fine at QB?

I can't wait to it gets back to, we can actually talk football again. And we can say stuff like this guy isn't performing well and we need to get better in that spot. 

[AUApostle 7,651]

41 minutes ago, metafour said:

You are wrong.

Freeze has inquired on at least 4-5 different QB's that would have been clear-cut starters over Ashford. 2-3 of those are guys from other schools who didn't officially enter the portal.

Your entire premise is silly, as Grayson McCall literally entered the portal with the intention of coming to Auburn...until his transcript prevented that from happening. So if Freeze had no intention of taking a QB, then what was all that about? Why was Leary from NC State brought in for a visit?

So all we know so far is that they have clearly looked for an upgrade at QB, but they have been selective about it. Please note that if TJ Finley does indeed plan on leaving as soon as he graduates after the spring, then we are at only 3 scholarship QB's (Ashford, Geriner, Hank Brown). This means that they will need to bring in a transfer QB regardless in the spring window in order to maintain 4 scholarship QB's.

And plenty of great transfer QBs have been brought in in May, sometimes later.

[W.E.D 11,070]

Just now, AUDevil said:

And plenty of great transfer QBs have been brought in in May, sometimes later.

Is this where we point out Nick Marshall or do we actually have a long list of kids recently that are Spring portal transfers and ended up being "great" the following season.  I'm not sure I know of any

[AUApostle 7,651]

21 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Is this where we point out Nick Marshall or do we actually have a long list of kids recently that are Spring portal transfers and ended up being "great" the following season.  I'm not sure I know of any

Joe Burrow, Justin Fields...

[Mikey 16,573]

2 hours ago, W.E.D said:

Is this where we point out Nick Marshall or do we actually have a long list of kids recently that are Spring portal transfers and ended up being "great" the following season.  I'm not sure I know of any

No. Nick Marshall wasn't a transfer, he was signed out of JUCO during the normal signing period for high school and JUCO players.

[W.E.D 11,070]

1 hour ago, AUDevil said:

Joe Burrow, Justin Fields...

❌ Joe Burrow completed like 58% of his passes his first year at LSU and wasn't really impressive.  Definitely not "great"

❌ Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State on January 4th 2019.  He went through spring practice for them, NCAA granted his waiver on Feb 8th, 2019.

[DAG 33,964]

We don’t need a “great” transfer . we do need some one adequate which would’ve been resourceful the last couple of years 

[cbo 7,827]

23 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

This post won't be a popular post but I don't think Freeze and Montgomery intend on getting a QB from the portal. There a few reasons I feel this way.

1) On ESD, Freeze had a presser where he went through every signing we got and spoke about each kid 1 by 1. He said it was a good signing day but "we still need to get a few more OT's, interior D-Linemen and a couple LB's." He never mentioned getting a QB. If that was as important as we all think it should be, he would've mentioned needing a QB. A reporter then asked him if he would get a transfer QB. He said if we see a QB that fits everything we want to do and he can help us immediately, then we will look into that. To me, that doesn't say "We HAVE to have a transfer QB for 2023."

2) When Robby was interviewed after Freeze was hired he said that he and Freeze talked and that they were gonna be a great combo for one another and would bring an SEC and National title back to Auburn. (He literally said this). Robby was ecstatic over what Freeze could do with him. Take that however you want but it doesn't sound like Freeze told him that he plans on bringing in a QB from the portal to start.

3) When we have had players visit from the portal, Auburn writers usually do interviews with the player and ask about their visit. 2 or 3 weeks ago we had a WR visit from the portal. Afterwards he was interviewed and said that Freeze has Auburn headed in the right direction, the facility was amazing and that Freeze is really going to do special things with Robby Ashford and he has a history with making QB's really good. I don't remember the WR's name but will search it. He DIDN'T sign here, he just took a visit. As a WR you would definitely want to know who was going to throw you the ball. This kid only mentioned Freeze talking to him about Robby being our QB.

4) We all went through this last year. (I'm 100% guilty) We all said Harsin is going to get a starting QB from the portal. He got Calzada and we all said "that's just for depth, we will still get a top QB from the portal. We got Robby and we said "He never even played a down at Oregon. He just came to Auburn to be closer to home. We are still gonna get a top QB from the portal." Never happened. I know that Freeze is light year's ahead of Harsin but just keep that in mind that all of us thought we were getting a starter from the portal and our beat writers all told us the same but it never happened. 

5) I think this is why TJ Finley didn't enter the portal and why he returned to the team. Most on this board say TJ has to return to the team or that they will pull his scholly. So he is with the team so he can graduate soon and transfer to SE Louisiana to play with his brother. Over on The Rant, they're all saying TJ is gonna graduate and transfer but is only with the team to keep his body in football shape and to get some practice until he transfers. That in itself proves nobody truly knows what's going on. We only know TJ never transferred, never entered the portal and is back with the team. I've not read his Twitter but others say his Twitter doesn't mention anything about leaving Auburn soon.

6) There were over 120 QB's enter the transfer portal. Between our QB guru's of Fteeze, Montgomery and Austin I think we would've gotten several visits from QB's and would've had no problems finding a QB. We did just fine in the transfer portal at all other positions but as far as I know, we only had Devin Leary visit. Another question, did ANY Auburn writer get a single interview with Leary when he visited? Other visitors were interviewed after they visited but I've not read anything where Leary talked with an Auburn writer, etc. 

I may be TOTALLY wrong but I truly feel like we would've had our transfer QB by now if it was as important to Freeze and Montgomery as it seems to be with all of us. WDE

You are overthinking this. There's no way Freeze watched game film from last season and said, "yep, all set at QB!" It really is that simple. 

[Mike4AU 1,739]

Freeze has publicly stated that he wants a portal QB, one that can help us win.  That, to me, is crystal clear that he has looked at the QB room and is not satisfied. 

[TeamZero77 1,784]

Mike G and Cole Cubelic were talking a few days ago on a podcast and they said Hugh Freeze invited 1 player to his introductory press conference when Auburn announced him as new HC. The player was Robby Ashford.