Hugh Freeze looking forward to seeing how Auburn quarterbacks respond to ongoing competition

With Auburn’s spring game coming up this weekend, all eyes are on the quarterbacks. TJ Finley, Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner are all still competing to be the starting quarterback, and Hugh Freeze said how they all respond will be key entering the season.

Ashford started the most games last year, but was more involved with the run game, ranking second on Auburn’s roster with 710 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Finley, however, was the Tigers’ leading passer with 1,613 yards and seven touchdowns despite starting just three games. But Freeze said Geriner, who only appeared in one game, is also making a case to be the starter. The former four-star recruit had a good practice earlier this week, but Freeze noted Finley and Ashford also had good days.

But Freeze wants to see how things go even into the summer. That’s why he’s focusing on how they respond to the competition more than how they look.

“I think he has a real chance to be a solid quarterback,” Freeze said of Geriner. “But I think the other two, again, had good days also, better days. The interesting thing will be their response to the competition that’s created and that has been created, that will continue to go on.

“Being the quarterback, to me, at an SEC school at a place like Auburn carries a lot of weight with it. And that weight doesn’t end when spring practice 15 is over. How does that go through summer? What does that look like in the leadership of this team? That will all play into, ultimately, who gets that first nod. It’ll be interesting to see how all respond to that.”

Early in spring practice, Freeze had some interesting comments about evaluating the quarterbacks and where things stood. But with a good amount of practices under their belts, the three have taken big strides, and Freeze shared where each has improved.

“Robby’s pocket presence,” Freeze said. “Quieter feet in the pocket. TJ is playing within the system. That’s gotten better. He’s made some accurate throws. Just sometimes they shouldn’t have been thrown. They should have been handed off. This is new to him. So, he’s done that.

“Holden’s accuracy. Particularly on down-the-field throws. He had several explosives on Wednesday. I think he’s improved. He’s got to get still in the pocket too, but he’s still young.”

Auburn’s A-Day spring game is coming up Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.