BY DANIEL LOCKE
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN —
Hugh Freeze’s first spring as the head coach of the Auburn football program has come to an end. The Tiger fans that sat out in the rain to watch the culminating event of spring practice saw a new, unconventional format, areas that still need work and most importantly, no clear indicators on how things are going to shake out in the quarterback room. The game, which resulted in a 24-24 tie between the offense and defense, saw all three quarterbacks — Robby Ashford, T.J Finley and Holden Geriner — play a decent amount.
“I feel better than I did 15 practices ago,” Freeze said. “I think from this point, now until the end of fall camp, there’s so much that needs to happen for somebody to solidify being “the guy.” I think all have improved. I think all are still inconsistent with some things. We really wanted to throw that ball around and it would’ve been really ugly and probably a lot of three-and-outs had we tried to do that.
“I think Robby (Ashford) got better,” Freeze continued. “He’s really been fun to coach. I think he’s trying to change some of the things that may have caused me concern about him being the quarterback leader, whether it be body language or ball security or just your demeanor in general — the way you talk, the way you talk to your teammates … I thought Holden (Geriner) threw some good balls. He missed a couple reads on some RPOs I think. T.J. (Finley) did too. It’s kind of been that way all spring. Some really positives one day and some inconsistencies the next day. We’ve still got some time to help them improve, hopefully.”
Finley, a 6-foot-7 junior who has started a total of six games for the Tigers, took the most attempts on Saturday. Finley went 11-for-19 on his passes for 137 yards and a touchdown.
“It’s about competing and bettering ourselves in each aspect of the game — mentally and physically,” Finley said on the quarterback competition. “Anywhere in the country, guys are competing, at each and every school. It’s always good to compete. You need competition to bring the best out of you each and every day, and I think we’re all responding to it well.”
Ashford, the former Oregon Duck who started most of the season for Auburn last year, took the second-most attempts. Ashford went 12-for-16 passing for 132 yards. He also added a rushing TD.
“I feel like every single day I found something to get better at,” Ashford said on being challenged in practice. “Coach Freeze definitely challenged me, and I appreciate that because he has taught me so much already in such a short amount of time. Being able to go out there and have him challenge me has been really good. Just from our talks, he is a coach who really cares and really wants to see me succeed. Him, coach (Philip) Montgomery, coach (Kent) Austin and coach (Jesse) Stone have all just helped me tremendously and have gotten me so much better from day one of spring ball to practice No. 15.”
Geriner, the redshirt freshman who only saw the field in one game last season, went 9-for-11 passing for 71 yards and one TD. Additionally, Geriner scored a crucial two-point conversion that helped the offense complete its comeback late in the game.
“That’s been something that I’ve been trying to implement recently, just being able to run a lot more,” Geriner said on the two-point conversion. “I think I’ve definitely improved on that a lot and it’s something I like to show.”
While all three quarterbacks on Auburn’s roster flashed potential at A-Day, Freeze said he has not ruled out the possibility of the Tigers bringing in a quarterback from the transfer portal.
“The transfer portal opens soon, and we are open to any position that would help us improve our team as long as they fit within the culture, and that includes the quarterback room,” Freeze said after the game.
The 2023 football season is still a few months away, however, so Freeze and company still have time to continue to move some things around in order to give the Tigers the best chance of competing in 2023.