Auburn football (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Count Daren Bates as part of team TJ Finley in the two-horse race between the LSU transfer and the incumbent junior sign-caller Bo Nix for the Auburn football starting quarterback position in 2021.
Finley announced his intentions in May of joining the Auburn family with every intention of starting for the Tigers this coming season. Nix, who was once tabbed as a potential 2022 #1 NFL Draft pick, is turning heads in camp thanks to the competition Finley is providing.
Essentially, Finley’s presence is already paying off in spades for what it was supposed to do: being the shot in the arm Nix needs to take his game to the next level.