Bryan Harsin explains impression of Zach Calzada, Auburn QB room

Coming off of a turbulent offseason at Auburn, head coach Bryan Harsin is ready to get back into spring football and talk about his quarterback battle instead of his job security. As the spring practice begins, Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada comes in with a chance to compete with LSU transfer TJ Finley and former four-star recruit Dematrius Davis.

During an appearance on The Next Round, Bryan Harsin discussed where his quarterbacks are coming into spring practice and what he has seen from Zach Calzada so far.

“We got to play against Zach,” said Harsin. “You know he’s got a very strong arm, he’s accurate, so you got a chance to see that. I think he’s competitive, very tough. You watch the game he played against Alabama, he played really well in that game, did some really good things.

“When I see quarterbacks, I look for guys that can throw it, that can move, that can do all those things just to play the position, but there’s also a mentality that goes along with it. And I think Zach has it. I think all the guys at the quarterback position, that we have, have that as far as just toughness. Guys that will prepare themselves, guys that will make good decisions, that remains to be seen as we go into spring but you’ve got to be a tough dude. And you’ve got to be a guy that will stand in the pocket, will deliver. You’ve got to be somebody that will prepare themselves to make great decisions, will spend the time necessary to really understand what is needed from him at the quarterback position.”

Bryan Harsin on quarterbacks

After addressing what he saw from Calzada, and what he looks for from others, he broke down how each of the quarterbacks has progressed so far and provided a timeline and explanation of how Auburn will pick its starting quarterback.

“All those guys, they understand the requirements that we feel like are necessary for quarterbacks to be successful,” said Harsin. “Now, they’ve got to go out there and execute on the field and that’s the beauty of having a chance to get on the field, right now, is they get a chance to start going out there and throwing it, playing catch, running routes, getting under center, getting in the gun, getting 11-on-11.

“And they’re going to have a chance to really have everything they do document, it’s all on video, and it’s going to be graded every single day. And at the end of those 15 practices, where are these guys at? Then we reevaluate where we’re going from there. I really like where Zach’s been, I really like where these guys are because they’re doing a really good job of preparing themselves.”