Robby Ashford, South Carolina Football News: Draft Scout Player News

02/04/23 - QB Robby Ashford, rSr/2025, South Carolina

Hugh Freeze's arrival on the Plains brought loads of questions, and many of the on-the-field wonders came from one spot: the quarterback room. Would Auburn dip into the transfer portal for a quarterback? What does Freeze, a known quarterback guru, think of Robby Ashford? Is last year's Week One starter, TJ Finley, even still around? A little over two months later, Auburn wrapped up its first signing class under Freeze. It has seen the first of two transfer portal windows come and go. And still, a lot, if not all, of the questions surrounding the position remain. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Freeze said he thinks he'll know lots more about his quarterback room after spring practices start Feb. 27. "Truthfully, when I watched the cut-ups that I've watched, man, it's hard," Freeze said of Auburn's quarterbacks. "It's hard for me to adequately judge quarterbacks if they're not afforded the opportunity to stand in the pocket and make reads and make different throws for a decent percentage of time. The sample size for that is pretty small if they weren't under some type of duress, or maybe it was more of a move-the-pocket scheme. "So I'm anxious to get into spring and kind of see how they handle that, and then I'll go from there with what we do in the second portal window."

Auburn head football coach Hugh Freeze previews spring practices, recaps signing day while speaking to the media Feb. 2. Freeze confirmed reports that the program entertained bringing in a quarterback during the first transfer portal window, which closed in late January. Coastal Carolina's Grayson McCall, North Carolina State's Devin Leary and Oklahoma State's Spencer Sanders were all named that were tied to the Tigers. Although he didn't specify who was pursued, Freeze said he "never felt great" about many quarterbacks in the portal. "I was OK with that, honestly," Freeze said. "I'm excited to work with the ones we have." - Opelika-Auburn News

rSr/2025