There was a moment this offseason when T.J. Finley questioned whether he wanted to continue playing football. Auburn had just brought in Zach Calzada and Robby Ashford to compete for the starting quarterback job, and Finley had doubts about his place on the team.

Feeling almost counted out, Finley leaned toward his faith for answers.

"I'm big on my faith in God, and God just continuously reminded me, 'This is for you, this is what you can do,'" he said. "He kind of showed me bits and pieces of what I went through last year that this is for me."

On Sunday, the 6-foot-7 quarterback was named QB1 for the Tigers heading into this Saturday's matchup against Mercer. While the news didn't shock him, Finley said, "I kind of knew already," the announcement did provide a confidence boost for the junior quarterback.

"When your head coach tells you that you're the guy that we're rolling the carpet out with, it definitely brings a level of confidence that I would think nobody wants to see when we come later down the season," Finley said.

That confidence level wasn't that high last season. The Louisiana native admitted he wasn't physically or mentally ready to become the starting quarterback following Bo Nix's injury, with Auburn losing all three games Finley started. So this offseason, he observed what he could do to become a better quarterback and leader.

Finley has dropped close to 10 pounds, referring to that as "baby weight," and has become more mobile than in the past. He's also worked on his accuracy, which Bryan Harsin praised as his quarterback has improved. And he's sat down with Harsin and offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau to learn what they expect from him, how the inner details of the offensive system work and what he needs to do to take this offense to the next level.

He also realizes he is still young, speaking of how he has been "thrown into the fire since he was 18 years old." Finley has become tougher, able to take a hit while delivering a pass while ignoring the critics on social media. He's more mature.

So, when it was revealed that he would be Auburn's starting quarterback for the 2022 season, Finley didn't celebrate for long. He said it was fantastic news, but his job was far from done.

"I didn't come here just to win a starting job; I came here to lead this team and win an SEC championship and national championship," he said.

His message to Harsin?

"Alright, let's do this. I'm ready to go," Finley said.