Mike Bobo shares high praise for TJ Finley ahead of Auburn QB’s start vs. South Carolina
By Jake Rill
Published:
With Bo Nix undergoing ankle surgery and set to miss the rest of the season, Auburn’s offense will now be in the hands of backup quarterback TJ Finley. The sophomore will be under center for the Tigers’ final 2 regular-season games of 2021.
It won’t be Finley’s first action of the season, though. Earlier this year, he appeared in 6 games and passed for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also adding a rushing score. Now, he’ll get a larger opportunity to showcase his skills and try to earn the starting job for 2022.
During a Wednesday appearance on the “Tiger Talk” radio show, Auburn offensive coordinator Mike Bobo shared high praise for Finley ahead of this week’s road game against South Carolina.
“It’s putting in the work, putting in the time, studying, and he’s been doing that even when he was a backup,” Bobo said, per AL.com’s Tom Green. “… He’s preparing before we even had the meeting with the coach. And I think that’s always a good sign for guys that you’re prepared before the meeting even starts. Yes, we’re going to go over it again. But you’re so prepared you’ve got questions when I start going over the concept of that play. So that’s the one thing is, ‘Hey, you know, respond the right way, come in here and work. It’s your show this week, and [you have to] take responsibility.’
“It’s a big responsibility, being a quarterback at any level, especially in this league. And you know, if you want to win on the road in this league, you’ve got to have good quarterback play to do it.”
The Tigers have lost 2 straight games and 3 of their past 5, so Finley will be looking to get them back on track this week as they take on the Gamecocks.
Auburn and South Carolina are set to kick off on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.
