John Samuel Shenker: QB Zach Calzada 'has been on the back burner lately'

During the Gus Malzahn era, Auburn fans were consistently clamoring for a switch at quarterback.

Now, 16 games into the Bryan Harsin era, the pendulum has almost swung in the opposite direction entirely. A failing dual quarterback system has split the fanbase over whether or not the Tigers should let one quarterback play (Robby Ashford being the favorite there), or if Auburn should push further down the depth chart.

Does Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada exist? After seeing No. 1 and No. 2 on the depth chart combine for a TD/INT ratio of 2/6 through three games, the question is being asked:

How bad could Calzada possibly be?

Auburn tight end John Samuel Shenker joined Zac Blackerby on the Locked On Auburn Podcast to talk about the Tigers' offense, and if we could potentially see Calzada make his way onto the field against Missouri this Saturday.

"I don't know, (Zach) Calzada has just kind of been on the back burner lately," Shenker said. "He's gotten some reps in practice, so I don't know. We'll when we start practice tomorrow how that looks."

Is an appearance from Calzada completely out of the question?

"Would I be surprised? Probably not, if he had a shot," Shenker said. "But I don't know. I don't know what Coach Harsin is thinking gameplan-wise for Missouri, cause it's really what's best for us to beat Missouri. I know TJ (Finley) is banged up too, so we'll see what that looks like moving forward."

Auburn has one of four choices. If Finley is healthy enough, they trot him out there against Mizzou and run the dual quarterback offense again (which has been less than effective so far) with Ashford. Or they let Ashford rock and play an entire game to prove what he's truly capable of.

Ashford and Calzada could also split time at quarterback, either by design or because Finely/Ashford perform poorly again.

Could we even see Holden Geriner at some point? Nothing feels like it is off the able after the beating the Tigers took against Penn State.

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