Bryan Harsin talks TJ Finley, depth chart, upcoming game against Mercer

Harsin spoke with the media on Monday afternoon.

It's officially game week.

Bryan Harsin address the media in a press conference Monday afternoon and spoke about naming quarterback TJ Finley the starter, depth chart observations, as well as Auburn's season-opening opponent, Mercer.

On Auburn's upcoming game vs Mercer:

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

They score 63 points (vs Morehead State), had 625 total yards, and that's hard to do. They're well coached... they play hard, they're physical, and they're very balanced. In all three phases."

"They certainly have our attention... most importantly for us, it's a chance for us to get ready for a game. There's no more scrimmages, there's no more spring games. We have a deadline, and it's this Saturday, and we get a chance to go out there and play. And I would say that everybody in this room is excited about that. You get to a point in camp where you're just tired of hitting each other... Now we get a chance to go out there and play somebody else and to be at home in our stadium."

"I could tell last night at practice the energy was different. There was an excitement that this is the week. We get to go out there and play. I'm very proud of all the work our coaches and players have put in to get to this point."

On whether or not TJ Finley has the quarterback job locked up:

AP Photo/Vasha Hunt

"We're always evaluating. He won the starting job, and that's the focus going into this week. Beyond this game, and not to create any controversy or any issues, but it's football. You never know, right? You have guys at other positions - you guys have the depth chart - Shedrick Jackson is our starting X wide receiver, and Marcus Harris is our starting defensive tackle. It's really the same thing, I know we want to focus on the quarterback, it's all the same to me."

"You got to go out there and play well, I think those guys all know that, at the end of the day. It doesn't mean that other guys in backup roles don't want to play and it doesn't mean -  you know at the end of the week we were kind of joking about it earlier, I mean we're a strep throat away from somebody else being a starter. So this depth chart right here, that's the reality of our world. Guys get sick, something happens, and I told the team in here too that 'you might be the third string guy, and then come Thursday a guy gets sick, and you're the second string guy, and then he goes out there and on the second play of the game rolls his ankle, you're the starter on the third play of the game just like that."

"If guys are just sitting in here and are pouting about not being in the position they want to be in, they're not going to be ready when their moment is called. TJ has earned it. Those other quarterbacks, they all competed. They're not going to stop working, they're not going to stop trying to prepare to go out there and play. Because they all know that you're one play away."

"As far as practice goes, TJ is going to get the majority of the reps, he's going to be out there running with the blues, and we're going focus on the game plan and what we have to do, and let him go operate and let him know that 'hey, we have your back,' this is his opportunity to go out there and prepare himself for Saturday and hopefully play really really well."

On how TJ Finley found out he won the job:

Eric Starling

"I think that anyone that was at our practices knew that he won the job." 

"I don't think there was any shock whatsoever. But, you know, hey, ready to go... That's what I like about TJ is the guy has been taking number one reps since January. I'm not sure that he was really surprised by it. But nonetheless, hey, let's roll. It's time to go.

On Robby Ashford's role early in the season:

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

“We'll see where Robby (Ashford)'s at, too. The focus is on T.J. (Finley) and getting that group really going because we've had multiple quarterbacks taking reps. We really haven't had a ton where just one guy is getting the majority of the reps. I'm really proud of Robby, though. I think he's come a long way as far as his development and his understanding of what we're doing. I think Robby is very talented, and he'll continue that, too. That's the one thing about where Robby's at right now. Robby's not going to stop developing. We'll see when we get this game plan really honed in for Mercer and how he goes out there and executes it. He's ready to go. He's one play away from being out there. He's going to get plenty of reps, plenty of opportunities to keep proving himself, and he has to have that mentality now."

"That’s the hardest thing about being a backup quarterback because you have to prepare like the starter. You don't get all the reps. You're not getting all the attention. You're not going into the game knowing that you're the starter, but you're preparing like one because all it takes is one snap and it can change. Something can happen and all of a sudden you're on the field. You're the starter, so he has to prepare like that. It’s no different for our other quarterbacks as well."

"I think Holden is coming on. I think he's doing a really good job of understanding what the expectations are. I thought being out there at the open practice was good for him to kind of get out there on the field and be one of those guys that haven’t been on the field with people out there. I feel good about where he's at as well. Zach continues to keep developing himself and improving. I'm excited to see both those guys, T.J. and Robby, this week and see how they operate, just really get dialed into the game plan and see what that looks like at the end of the week going into the game.”

On Allen Greene:

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

“First thing for Allen, he's very well accomplished to get to this point and where he's at."

"I know that's not easy. Certainly I think about him and his family. I'm very appreciative, number one, because we joked about it here at the time we met. I knew Allen Greene when he was at Buffalo, and we got a chance to talk and it wasn't a joke. The first time we met, it was a serious conversation, and here I am talking to a guy and I'm like, ‘Wow, this guy is really locked in.’ I liked what he had to say. We were at two Group of Five schools, and we’re trying to make it and figure out where we stand. What are the things we have to do to help improve our programs? Then all of a sudden, he's at Auburn and we're having a conversation about this job. And I appreciate his process. I felt like through the interview process, he did a great job of asking the right questions and telling me things I needed to know." 

"He made sure I had a heads up on certain things and recruiting, and that's really what it comes down to. You're interviewing but you're also recruiting. You're doing those things and I thought that process was done very well. Then working with him here, I got to see him lead. I got to be a part of the head coaches’ meetings the all-staff meetings. I got a chance to go in there and give my thoughts and opinions on things. You're running 500 student-athletes and coaches and people, that's no easy task. Just on our staff, you got people that you're trying to lead, you got teams you're trying to lead, and they all want to get better. They all want things that sometimes you can provide, but sometimes you can't, but you’ve still got to lead."

"I'm just appreciative of this opportunity because of him. I'm appreciative of his leadership. He's made his decision, we're going to move forward, and we got to get ready for Mercer. We’re going to get our team to go out there and play well, and that's really what we have to focus on right now. Certainly, I know that he'll support us and wants to see us succeed. So to me, that’s kind of where we are right now.”

On Zach Calzada and others’ roles as backup players:

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

“With Zach, I mentioned he was sort of still catching up with a shoulder injury in the spring. Every guy's getting coached up. We don't go through everybody on the roster and what the expectations are day-to-day like we do with our players. We're not going to do that publicly. Zach's no different. We just keep competing and working. He has things to work on, so does everybody else on our football team, but for all the guys that aren't in the starting role, keep your head up because it changes so quickly."

"Special teams are a big factor. We have guys that are back-ups on this list right here that will be starters on special teams. You're going to see a lot of guys that may not be starters on special teams, but they might end up being starters in that game in the second half, so you just never know. I mean, it's football. 

"We have our roster, and these guys are ready to play. We're going to keep continuing to prepare them that way. My goal is when a guy steps on the field everybody's excited, the other 10 guys are excited that he's coming on the field, and he goes out there and really seizes the moment because I want every single guy on this team to be successful. When you get your chance, I don't care if it's the guy that started as a back-up, all that we want is to see you be successful. We want you to go out there and experience that and also help the team win a football game. Every one of these guys knows that for me, we're going to keep coaching and we're going to keep helping them.”

Who stood out during preseason:

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

“Owen (Pappoe), it’s really hard to get him that much stronger, that much faster, that much better. Just that tiny little bit for Owen is so hard to do. (Tar’Varish) Dawson's like the size of this room from where he was, right? He's grown. Everybody in their own way has made improvements. That is what I look at because you have to challenge guys differently. I don't expect our elite players to play down to a level because other people around them aren't at their level. At that point, I expect them to push themselves and play at the elite level. I expect the guys that are just solid to get up to an excellent level."

"Everybody's different. That's coaching That's the thing, you have one position group and three different guys at the same spot and they're all at different levels. You're trying to get them to a point where they can help us win. I think everybody's made progress in a lot of ways, and I don't think a lot of guys that we had here last year went backwards in any way. I think their football intelligence is better as well as their preparation habits. They're doing things that we just didn't do last year. They're seeing things that we didn't see last year. I think their effort in practice is better than what we had the previous year. To me, everybody's making progress and those young guys are coming along. I would say that some of those freshmen are going to find themselves in the mix somewhere along the way. We'd like to play them at some point, so they just need a little bit of time and experience."

"I thought the other day when we went out there, you could see there were some jitters. Some of those guys that hadn't been in that stadium with people in it, on the football field that's different. They came to games and watched what the other guys on the field did, then all of a sudden you're down there and there's just a few eyes on you. You start to see some different mechanics and it's like relax, but you have to go through that and experience it before you get out there in front of 80,000 plus. I thought every one of those guys grew in different ways. I thought we made progress overall.”

On the running game stats at the start of last season and now vs. Mercer:

Michael Chang/Getty Images

“Those are pretty good stats, right? Absolutely by design. That’s what we’re trying to do. We really are. You want to run the football. I think that's one thing that we'd like to do and we would like to be balanced. Mercer had 359 yards rushing and 266 passing. That's pretty impressive. I would say that's pretty balanced. And by the by the score. You can see why they ran the ball at the end of the game more. Just because the score was just so different."

"You'd like to be balanced. You'd like to say you could run the ball. You'd like to say that you can throw it and do all those things and be balanced. So that is the goal and how that goes, that's really up to us. And up to the team you're playing, too. What is their game plan? We'll see what their game plan for us is when we step on the field. But we want to come out and establish things on our offense where we are doing some of the stuff that we've been practicing. Running the football, throwing the ball, being balanced, and our guys are executing is what it is we're trying to get done on the offensive side.”

On Jayson Jones and the defensive line overall:

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

“Jayson, I mean, look at him. He’s 6’6 and 328 pounds and he brings size. That's number one. He brings length to that side of the ball. Jayson is one of my favorite guys. I really think he's highly intelligent. He works very hard. He's very coachable. I think he's really prepared himself to go out there and play. And just from what I've seen, his whole process has been very good and I think that's why he's going to be out there playing. Why I think he's going to go out there and play well too. He just has that mentality of getting himself prepared to go out there and play the way he needs to on the defensive line."

"I think that's brought out the best in Marquis Burks. I think that's helped him. I think Marcus Harris is one of the guys that played for us last year, but he's a better player this year. I think he's really improved in those areas. Colby Wooden doesn't get enough credit. I probably need to talk more about Colby because what he does on a day-to-day basis, he's so consistent and he's getting better. He's just one of those guys. We all expect that from him, but I don't think we all understand how hard it is to do what he does. And when Colby is going, man, things are good. He can make a huge difference on the defensive line. And then your edges in Derick (Hall) and Eku (Leota) out there. Those guys are both really good. That anchors each side of the D-line. But Jayson has had a really good summer, had a really good training camp and now it's time to go out there and let him play. I have no doubt that he'll do his job, and I expect him to play well.”

On the wide receivers:

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

“I think the depth has helped. I think bringing some of those guys in has really helped with the competition in that room. I think it's brought out the best in the other players, in Shed (Jackson) and Malcolm Johnson, and some of those guys that have been here before. I feel like we got better depth. I feel like we got better speed. And I feel like those guys are competing out at practice. That's one of the things that stood out. I think Coach Hilliard’s done a really good job of creating that mentality amongst the group."

"What I mean by that is when you get out there and you're throwing routes and the ball is slightly behind the guy. They're actually there catching it. They’re snatching it. They're making it more of a game-like session than just reaching one hand out there and kind of sticking it back and thinking they can't catch it. They're really trying to go out there and execute the plays, on air or whether we're going against the defense. To me, we're more competitive in that room. I think we got better depth in that room. I think the competition has brought out the best in some of our guys. And now we have to go out there and execute it and do it on game day. But I do like that room, and I think the versatility they give us, as well, just knowing what we're trying to do offensively so we can move guys around. I think that helps us.

On Tate Johnson at center:

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

“I think he’s plenty strong enough. I think the weight will continue to come. We don't stop lifting until we're clear. We don't stop lifting when the season begins. We don't stop developing. That's still part of the plan for these guys. We're still getting guys stronger and faster and bigger throughout the year, but he's done a really good job of understanding what we're trying to do on the offensive side. At center, you're making a lot of calls. You're redirecting. You're getting everybody on the same page. You have the snap count. You have all these things to factor in, and I think he's handled that well. Early on when Nick (Brahms) was not there, he was getting more reps and starting to really play a lot more than he had in practice before. After that he started to get kind of into a groove a little bit, and Jalil (Irvin) has helped him as well." 

"Jalil has played that position and has helped, so those guys are working together. I think Brahms has really helped both guys. Avery (Jernigan)'s another one that continues to keep making progress at that position, too, but Tate can do it and go out there and he can make the calls. He can see the field. I think he's actually moving really well, too. For some of the things that we want to do, I think he's running well. He's landing blocks. There's that component to the game, too. We really need that position as your center playing well, and I think he's done a good job so far.”

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