T.J. Finley came to Auburn two years ago to compete for the starting job. Little did he know then that he’d be entrenched in a competition to be the Tigers’ quarterback for, ostensibly, the third consecutive offseason.

Finley has battled Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner for the job this spring as part of a competition that will carry into fall camp and could include a fourth, to-be-determined candidate, should head coach Hugh Freeze land a viable option in the post-spring transfer portal. It’s the latest development in an unexpected journey for Finley, whose career started at LSU in 2020.

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“I believe I can compete with anybody in the country, and that’s why I transferred here from LSU; I felt like I can compete with Bo Nix (in 2021),” Finley said Saturday, addressing the local media for the first time since September. “Competition doesn’t scare me. I know who I am. I know what I can do, and with the right coaches, I know who I can grow into and hopefully this is the place. Competition brings the best out of everybody, and if you can’t handle competition, you don’t need to be in this industry.

“That’s how I look at it. I serve a great God, and God has put me here for a reason, and I’m going to fulfill my destiny here.”

Finley’s comments came following Auburn’s annual A-Day game on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium, which represented the culmination of the Tigers’ first spring under Freeze. The day provided less-than-ideal conditions for Auburn’s quarterbacks; the heavy rain and unseasonably chilly weather wasn’t conducive to throwing the ball much, and Auburn attempted just 12 passes on the afternoon, with Finley going 1-of-4 in the pocket for 4 yards.

A-Day, of course, was just a sliver of the bigger picture when it comes to Auburn’s uncertain quarterback situation. Freeze said afterward that overall, he felt better about the Tigers’ quarterbacks than he did six weeks ago, but inconsistencies from all three returning signal-callers have underscored the need for continued improvement at the position.

“It’s just about competing, bettering ourselves in each aspect of the game — mentally, physically,” Finley said. “Anywhere in the country, guys are competing at each and every school. It’s always good to compete. You need competition to bring the best out of you each and every day, and I think we’re all responding to it well.”

Finley’s turn at quarterback on Saturday saw him take the reins on Auburn’s second drive, after Ashford led the offense to a touchdown on its first possession. Finley also led a pair of field goal drives in the second half, including the one that cemented a 24-24 final score as time expired.

It was his first time conducting the offense at Jordan-Hare Stadium since Week 3 last season against Penn State, back when he was still Auburn’s starting quarterback.

Since that Penn State game, it has been a whirlwind stretch of uncertainty for Finley. He sustained a shoulder injury during that loss, and he only appeared in one other game the rest of the season, a brief appearance at Ole Miss in October, as Ashford took over the starting job. He then spent some time away from the team in November for what a source described at the time as a “mental health break” before rejoining the team for winter workouts.

“I’m not really sure what triggered it, what prompted it,” Finley said of his leave of absence. “I like to leave the past in the past and focus on the future. All I know is I’m a completely better person now mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and hopefully who I am right now can lead this team to a national championship.”

To do that, though, Finley will have to reclaim the starting job at Auburn. He edged out Ashford and Zach Calzada as QB1 during fall camp last season.

He’s no stranger to competition. He competed with Max Johnson midseason as a freshman at LSU when Myles Brennan went down with an injury in 2020. Then Finley transferred to Auburn, where he competed with returning starter Bo Nix for the job in Bryan Harsin’s first season and eventually took over as starter when Nix’s season ended due to an ankle injury. Then there was last offseason’s competition, which culminated with him being named starter ahead of the season opener against Mercer before injury sidelined him.

Now he’s competing with Ashford again and Geriner with hopes of leading Auburn’s offense under Freeze, who has credited him with improving his accuracy this spring as well as his understanding of how to play within the Tigers’ new system. Consistency has been an issue for each of Auburn’s quarterbacks this spring, even if they have progressed over the last six weeks, and it’s something Finley hopes to improve upon in the offseason months.

“I’ve been talking about this for three years: It’s being the same guy in the office as you are outside of the office,” Finley said. “I think I’m doing a very good job at that myself. Just being there for the team and being what the team needs at the time, whether it’s being the leader or just sitting back and following and other guys on the team leading and stuff like that. Just consistency, and I think that will separate who the QB1 is going to be.”

Whether that will be Finley is to be determined. Freeze reiterated Saturday that he’ll explore the transfer portal for potential quarterbacks when the post-spring window opens next week (from April 15-30) and will bring in another candidate if the right fit becomes available.

If that’s the case, Finley—who graduates at the end of this semester—will sit down with Freeze to discuss his own future. Finley, for his part, has appreciated Freeze being upfront not only in his assessment of Auburn’s three current quarterbacks but in the possibility of bringing in someone else to compete for the job.

“I’m going to compete, and if I’m not the best guy, I can—you know, if I’m not the best guy, I’m going to compete,” Finley said. “I’m going to compete.”

When asked if he is committed to remaining at Auburn, even if it means being the backup, Finley said he’s “not sure” and is not focused on that at this time (his upcoming Easter meal with his family had his attention after A-Day). Finley emphasized, however, that he very much wants to be Auburn’s starting quarterback this fall.

“Hell yeah, most definitely,” Finley said. “If I didn’t want to be, I wouldn’t be here.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.