Hugh Freeze feels ‘better’ about Auburn quarterbacks after spring practices

Following a wet A-day spring scrimmage for the Auburn Tigers, head coach Hugh Freeze gave his thoughts on what he’s seen from his Tigers over the spring so far. Most importantly, Freeze addressed his feelings about his three quarterbacks jockeying for the starting position: TJ Finley, Robby Ashford, and Holden Geriner.

“I feel better than I did 15 practices ago. I really think from this point now until the end of fall count; there’s so much that needs to happen for somebody to solidify being the guy. And I think all have improved (and) all are still inconsistent with some things,” said Freeze.

“I think Robbie got better. And he’s really been fun to coach. I think he’s trying to change some of the things that may have caused, at least me, concern about him being the quarterback leader. Whether it be body language, ball security, or just your demeanor in general; the way you talk, the way you talk to your teammates. And I don’t know the anybody’s ever really challenged him like I did this spring with that.”

Last season Ashford saw the most time behind center as the Tiger starting quarterback. The soon-to-be sophomore from just down the road in Hoover, AL, did all he could at the position to try and keep Auburn football afloat. Ashford’s inexperience showed itself consistently throughout the season as he completed just 49.2 percent of his passes for 1613 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also carried the ball 153 times, rushing for 710 yards and another seven touchdowns. Still, Ashford has a long way to go to earn the starting spot as he is still working through the challenges issued to him by Freeze and his coaching staff this offseason.

“I thought all three of them responded to our challenges and just were like, coach, just please coach me. So, I think you saw today he’s got the capability of making some plays. I thought he threw a really good seem ball in those conditions.

“Holden through some good balls, and he missed a couple of reads on some RPO’s and TJ did too. But it’s kind of been that way all spring; some real positives one day and then some inconsistencies the next day. We still got some time to help them improve, hopefully.”

As for Geriner and Finley, both of them are still in the running for the starting quarterback position. But given the way Freeze glowingly spoke about Ashford’s progress, he might have a solid upper hand over the other two. We won’t know for sure until possibly over the summer. But as of right now, it looks like Auburn starting quarterback position is Ashford’s to lose.

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