When will Bryan Harsin name Auburn football's starting quarterback? He shares timeline

ATLANTA — Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin shared with local reporters his expected timeline for naming a 2022 starting quarterback – and he's in no rush entering preseason practices.

Asked Thursday at SEC Media Days if he hopes to decide his QB1 two or three weeks before the first game, Harsin responded with a quick "no."

"We'll have one as we get into that first game prep," he said. "I usually say it's about 10 days out, is kind of where it's happened. But we'll name a starter when it's right. They're will be a time in camp when everybody knows. And then it's just a matter of how we want to roll it out.

"So we'll know before you guys know, and then we'll figure out how we roll it out and how we want that whole thing. Because when you do decide who the quarterback's going to be, that's a big moment. Everybody's going to make a big deal about it. And that particular player is going to have to handle that. The other guys are going to have to handle that. And you want to do it the right way."

Zach Calzada has been working out and getting reps this summer and will be back in pads when preseason practices start. The Texas A&M transfer missed most of Auburn's spring camp with a noncontact jersey (shoulder).

But junior running back Tank Bigsby was especially impressed with Calzada's work ethic even while the newcomer wasn't fully healthy.

"He was putting in work still," Bigsby said. "Taking mental reps behind the quarterback. I'd never seen a guy just stand behind the quarterback every rep and go through progressions, like he was doing."

Calzada is competing for the job against T.J. Finley and Oregon transfer Robby Ashford.

Harsin said Calzada's full season of starting experience gives him a competitive edge.

"That helps him; it doesn't hurt him," Harsin said. "He's been through it.

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"They're coming along," the coach said. They're a lot further than what they were in the spring," Harsin said. "It's nice to have Zach out there. ... They've taken the next step in the film room. We know they can throw, they can run, they can do all those things. There's the physical component to it, but it's really the mental side. I feel like our preparation and the study habits that Coach Kiesau has implemented -- we're just further along in those areas. They understand the system. They understand what we're trying to do. They understand why we check something."

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: When will Bryan Harsin name Auburn football starting quarterback?