Hugh Freeze says that Robby Ashford’s skills are ‘hard to evaluate’
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Hugh Freeze has coached his share of talented quarterbacks since taking his first FBS head coaching job at Arkansas State in 2011.
In 10 years as a coach at this level, five of his quarterbacks have passed for more than 3,000 yards, and five also ended the season by leading the team in rushing attempts in addition to their passing numbers.
In this regard, sophomore quarterback Robby Ashford has the potential to be the sixth quarterback to accomplish this feat under Freeze.
Ashford took over the role as starting quarterback late in Auburn’s loss to Penn State last season and would go on to lead the team to three wins while passing for 1,613 yards and seven touchdowns. He also rushed for 710 yards, which was second on the team behind Tank Bigsby.
How easy will it be for Ashford to join Chad Kelly and Malik Willis as the next talented dual-threat quarterback to play for Freeze? Well, it is too early to tell.
During Monday’s press conference, Freeze discussed the quarterback situation. Specifically, he was asked how Ashford was performing in practice. Due to the way that spring practice is conducted, where the play is blown dead if the quarterback elects to run the football, Freeze says that he doesn’t have a true grasp of what all Ashford can do.
“I don’t know,” Hugh Freeze said this week when asked about Ashford’s ability. “I don’t say that to be funny. … I haven’t witnessed him in the games. I’ve seen the tapes and stuff, but I think it’s very hard to evaluate just how good he can be practicing the way we do, so it’s just hard for me to answer.”
Is that to say that Ashford is QB1? How many reps is he truly getting with the first-team offense? Freeze continues to push his “no depth chart” stance throughout spring practice, which continues the mystery of the Auburn quarterback situation.
“I don’t care what group you trot out with on the field right now; I don’t have in my mind that this is a first-team, a second-team, a third-team guy,” Freeze said. “But I really just believe that everybody’s going to get equal reps in the spring and (we will) develop some depth, at least, before we decide where everybody is in the pecking order of depth charts.”
Ashford is among three quarterbacks that are currently battling for the top spot on the quarterback depth chart, joining T.J. Finley and Holden Geriner. Auburn will conclude spring practice on Saturday, April 8 with the annual A-Day game.
