TJ Finley reacts to being named Auburn's starting quarterback: 'let's ride'

The Auburn Tigers officially have their starting quarterback named for the season opener against Mercer, with TJ Finley receiving the nod after a tight battle with Robby Ashford and Zach Calzada.

Evidently, the freshly-minted leader of Bryan Harsin‘s squad is elated, as he shared a tweet proclaiming his jubilance after the news was made official.

@AuburnFootball let’s ride

— TJ Finley 1️⃣ (@tj_finley1) August 28, 2022

“@AuburnFootball let’s ride,” tweeted Finley.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

Moreover, Finley took control of the Tigers offense late last season after transferring into the program from LSU in 2021 and was the incumbent quarterback in the battle. Adding to the tough decision were former Texas A&M QB Zach Calzada and former Oregon QB Robby Ashford.

The new Tigers starting quarterback came in as Auburn’s starter for the final three games of the 2021 season after former quarterback Bo Nix sustained an ankle injury that required surgery.

The Tigers went 0-3 with Finley at the helm, but never lost a game by more than one score, forcing No. 3 Alabama into a four-overtime Iron Bowl thriller in the regular season finale before dropping the Birmingham Bowl to No. 24 Houston 17-13. He would go on to finish last season with 827 passing yards, six touchdowns and one interception. 

Over the summer, the aforementioned Harsin has been extremely complimentary of Finley. In an article released after Finley was named the starting quarterback, On3’s Justin Hokanson of Auburn Live highlighted some praise Harsin threw his quarterbacks way as fall camp came to a close.

More on TJ Finley being named the starting quarterback of the Auburn Tigers on Auburn Live

“I’ve always been impressed with TJ as far as his command. He’s like a coach on the field. He picks things up quickly,” stated Harsin, per Hokanson. “He listens to the nuances — if there’s a coaching point, he’ll remember that coaching point and echo it when it comes up, which you appreciate. He’s got a good understand of what we’re trying to accomplish. I thought tonight he was good. He led the team down the field, executed well in critical moments, can improve in some of the easier throws that we didn’t complete tonight. There’s things we can improve from an accuracy standpoint, but he operated well.”

According to Hokanson, Calzada gave Finley a run for the starting job, but Harsin ultimately went with the former LSU transfer.

“Sources tell Auburn Live that Finley and Calzada were neck and neck in terms of statistics during fall camp,” added Hokanson. “Finley threw more touchdowns, while Calzada threw less interceptions. Their completion percentage was basically the same with both hovering around 60 percent.”

Now, the TJ Finley show will take center stage for Auburn in 2022. After showing some glimpses of promise last season, he’ll be looking to become an impact player for the Tigers moving forward.