JD PicKell: Breaking down TJ Finley's position in Auburn quarterback battle

The quarterback competition at Auburn is an interesting one. The Tigers have TJ Finley — who started in place of Bo Nix a few times in 2021 — former Texas A&M starter Zach Calzada and Oregon transfer Robby Ashford trying to become the new QB1.

On3’s J.D. PicKell argued Finley is the “known” commodity of the group, but had losses against South Carolina, Alabama and Houston to his name last season. That said, the conversation about the competition could be much different if that Alabama game goes another way.

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“Now, I want to make sure we talk about this. TJ Finley could have very well beaten Alabama if some things break differently for Auburn,” PicKell said on The Hard Count. “Like if Tank Bigsby gets down in bounds, TJ Finley might have a different aura about himself coming into this quarterback competition in the fall.

“Because much like Zach Calzada, to have beaten Alabama — even more so for TJ Finley — to have beaten Alabama, being the starting quarterback for Auburn would hold a lot of wait. Unfortunately, it’s a woulda-shoulda-coulda kind of world right now for TJ Finley. But he’s 6-7, 250 pounds, has a huge arm. Like from a physical perspective, TJ Finley is a superhero.

JD PicKell: TJ Finley had a chance to seize the starting quarterback job last year

Last year, his first after arriving at Auburn from LSU via the transfer portal, Finley completed just 54.7% of his passes. PicKell said if Finley wants to get the job — and succeed — he has to work on his accuracy. New offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau and his staff want to work on it, but that could make a major impact on the battle.

That said, PicKell said Finley had his chances to seize the job as Auburn’s starter last year. Now, he has to prove he’s capable of it.

“But the issue I would have is for TJ Finley to have played last year for Auburn in meaningful games and to not have put up Ws — in my opinion, I think he had a really great chance … to take the job by the throat a year ago,” PicKell said. “And to not have done that, I think he’s probably going to be kicking himself a little bit and, honestly, probably put himself in an uphill battle right now for this job.

“So, [he] could still very well win it. I wouldn’t put my money on him just yet, but what you love about him is the physical tools. Need more from him from an accuracy standpoint.”