Earlier this week, Bryan Harsin said that a major factor in T.J. Finley finding success at quarterback will be the veterans of the offense taking a larger role to offset any deficit in performance.
Harsin confirmed that starting quarterback Bo Nix will be out for the remainder of the season after sustaining an ankle injury against Mississippi State. He then named LSU transfer T.J. Finley as the starting quarterback for the Tigers.
Finley’s first career start while at LSU came against the South Carolina Gamecocks. That will also be his first Auburn start. Finley came in late for Auburn against Georgia State, rallying the struggling offense for a win on homecoming.
Harsin says that in order for Finley to be successful this week, high performers on the Auburn offense will be expected to step up and play to their highest capability to ensure that there is no drop-off in performance with the segue between Nix and Finley.
“I’m counting on those guys to raise their level this week, and their execution, make sure they’re doing their job so T.J. can go in there and just operate and do what he’s asked to do and play quarterback the way we know he can,” Harsin said. “Then, come game day, go cut it loose and take advantage of every opportunity to play.”
Specifically, Harsin named offensive starters across the board that he expected to take a larger role and perform at a higher level as the team prepares this week to travel to South Carolina. Veteran experience must also come with performance, especially after the Tigers’ recent offensive struggles.
“It’s the guys that have been playing: the Nick Brahms, Kobe Hudson, Tank Bigsby,” Harsin said. “Those are the guys that have to raise their level of execution, too, when you have a new player come in that hasn’t had as many reps and has the same experience as some of those guys that are going to play for us in the game.”
Harsin’s expectations are heavily on players who lead the offense in the various roles. Brahms brings experience the other two lack, while Bigsby and Hudson contribute explosive plays that help to swing momentum for the Tigers.
The starting center Brahms is the figurehead of the offensive line this season, with starting experience dating back to 2018. The senior captain has emerged as a leader of his position group, particularly after their struggles last season.
Bigsby heads the trio of running backs Auburn prefers to use. He's totaled 776 yards rushing and will be Finley’s closest support in his starting role. The sophomore is backed up by Shaun Shivers and Jarquez Hunter, who have brought balanced success to the offense.
Hudson leads a group of wide recievers that have their fair share of struggles through the season. Hudson was the top receiver against Mississippi State, adding 107 yards, that could have been more if not for a hit that limited his playing time the rest of the game.
A major point of emphasis for Harsin each week is that a quarterback contributes to the offense, but no large expectation can be placed on that one player. This is his focus as Finley comes in. Yes, he is important, but everyone else is expected to perform their designated role regardless.
“Everybody else that has been in there playing, those guys raise their level of play as well," Harsin said. "That’s the thing, when somebody gets injured, I don’t just think that that player has to come in there and be the guy that brings everything.”
Harsin was asked if any offensive realignment will occur with the change to Finley and he assured that the offense would look the same, because Finley’s role as backup has kept him knowledgeable of the team’s schemes.
“You kind of know what he likes and again, we’re still going to have to run our offense and do things that we feel are going to be successful. He’s going to have to be able to execute those,” Harsin said. “At the end of the day, we’ve still got to go operate our system then execute it.”
At the end of the day, everyone is expected to play their role to their ability. T.J. must adequately fill his role and everyone else must be at their best in case he struggles. With the train-wreck of a second half that happened Saturday, this will be a must for Auburn to get a win.
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Callie Stanford is from Springville, Alabama and is currently a sophomore at Auburn. She has been with The Plainsman since January 2021.
Twitter: @Stanford1Callie
