Harsin 'not making any decisions' about QB1

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Bryan Harsin 'not making any decisions' about QB1 after playing 2 in opener

Published: Sep. 04, 2022, 12:28 a.m.

7-8 minutes

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T.J. Finley may have won Auburn’s starting quarterback job, but it didn’t take long for the Tigers to whip out a two-quarterback system in their season opener — and add some further intrigue to the position moving forward.

Both Finley and backup quarterback Robby Ashford saw the field, including multiple times on the same drive — the two even taking the field together on the same play in one instance — during Auburn’s 42-16 win against Mercer on Saturday night. Finley started strong but struggled with a pair of interceptions, while Ashford flashed his potential as a dual-threat option after seeing the field early and then taking over for much of the second half.

Read more Auburn football: Analysis of Auburn’s season-opening win

What Bryan Harsin said about Auburn’s win against Mercer

Rewinding Auburn’s Week 1 win

Finley completed 9-of-14 passes for 112 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, while Ashford was 4-of-7 passing for 100 yards and added another 68 yards rushing on six carries.

“Look, T.J.’s our starter,” Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said when asked if the competition was open heading into Week 2. “He came into the game as our starter, and Robby got a chance to play and did well. T.J. had a couple of turnovers. Not ideal. Not exactly what you’d want. But we’re not making any decisions right now.”

Harsin wanted to review the game film and fully assess the play of both quarterbacks before making any decisions about the position heading into next weekend’s game against San Jose State. The decision to play both quarterbacks, though, was made well ahead of Saturday’s season opener. Ashford said after the game that offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau informed him Sunday, after Finley was named the starter, that Ashford would still see the field against Mercer in some capacity.

“That was all I could ask for,” Ashford said. “…I almost started crying, because they feel comfortable enough with me to put me in the game.”

Finley started the game, as expected, but Ashford checked in for the first time on Auburn’s fourth play from scrimmage, rushing for 8 yards on a first-down keeper on his first collegiate snap. Finley checked back in on the next play and went on to lead Auburn on a season-opening scoring drive, which was capped by the first of three touchdowns by running back Jarquez Hunter.

“It was just kind cool to see like, ‘Alright, I got it started. Boom, he finished it off,’” Ashford said. “Just how we came together just this whole week, just how, throughout the whole process, it was just good to see that, and I was happy for him because he got his first TD of the year, so it was just good to see that and it’s good to see him ball.”

The quarterback rotation continued on the second drive, with Ashford getting the first snap with Auburn’s offense backed up to its own 7-yard line following a Mercer punt. Ashford kept the ball and ran 49 yards to get the Tigers across midfield before giving way to Finley two plays later. The junior promptly hit Ja’Varrius Johnson for a 40-yard pass down to the 1-yard line and then connected with John Samuel Shenker for his first touchdown pass of the season. Shenker’s 1-yard score was his first touchdown in nearly three years.

Midway through the second quarter, Auburn not only used both quarterbacks on the same drive, but both Finley and Ashford were on the field at the same time. Ashford lined up in the slot, with Finley at quarterback on first-and-10 at the Mercer 39-yard line. Finley handled the snap, then handed it off to Ashford on a jet sweep. Ashford proceeded to pitch the ball to Tank Bigsby, who picked up 21 yards on the play. It was one of two trick plays for the Tigers on their third scoring drive of the night.

While Finley and Ashford complemented each other well early on, not everything went smoothly for Auburn at quarterback in Week 1.

After starting 8-of-9 passing for 100 yards and a touchdown, Finley threw an interception in Auburn territory late in the first half. That led to Mercer’s first touchdown of the night, just before halftime. On Auburn’s opening drive of the second half, Finley was picked off again, this time on an underthrown deep ball intended for Shenker. Finley went 1-of-5 passing for 12 yards and a pair of interceptions on his two drives on either side of halftime.

“I think I excelled in areas, but like I said, two major things I harp on myself on is not turning the ball over, and I did that twice tonight,” Finley said. “So, we’re going to go back to the film room and fix those things, and I guarantee you that will not happen again.”

With Finley — who ran the offense for the majority of the team’s first seven drives — struggling, Harsin opted to give Ashford his first real and extended opportunity to command the offense, and the former Oregon transfer remained at quarterback for the rest of the game. Ashford’s first full drive resulted in a touchdown, with the redshirt freshman driving Auburn 80 yards over seven plays and taking just 2:13 off the clock. Ashford completed 2-of-3 passes for 64 yards on the drive.

His first career pass attempt was a dropped screen intended for Tank Bigsby. Ashford got his first career completion on the next play, finding Tar’Varish Dawson Jr. for 8 yards to convert a third down. Two plays later, Ashford uncorked a perfectly placed 56-yard bomb to Johnson that set up Hunter’s third touchdown of the night.

Auburn’s next drive with Ashford at quarterback resulted in another touchdown — a 39-yard run by Bigsby that included a downfield block from Ashford — after a weather delay of nearly 90 minutes. Considering it was Ashford’s first in-game experience following two years of being buried on the depth chart at Oregon, it was a generally impressive debut.

While it showed what Auburn can do with a two-quarterback system, it was also a night that — given Finley’s two interceptions — prompted questions about who should start for Auburn moving forward.

“I feel like we kind of just went out there and proved that, even if you do run a two-quarterback system, we can still run it and run it to success,” Ashford said. “I mean, I feel like that’s not going to stop our offense. Our offense is just a great offense. Coach Harsin, Coach Keyz (Kiesau), all of our coaches, they draw up great plays, great gameplans, and they just get us dialed in. So, I mean, whoever goes in, our offense is ready, and we’ve got to be ready too, and I feel like that’s what we did. I feel like we prepared great and just went out there and executed.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.