Just days after Auburn quarterback T.J. Finley announced that he would leave the Plains as a graduate transfer, the Tigers might be getting the big acquisition they need.
Two recent crystal ball predictions from 247Sports have former Michigan State Spartans quarterback Payton Thorne finding his way down south. Last season for the Spartans, Thorne played in 12 games with 2,679 yards passing and 19 touchdowns.
Over his career in East Lansing, Thorne has completed 61.0% of his 861 attempts for 6,493 yards and 49 touchdowns. He averages 7.5 yards per attempt.
After whiffing at a few other names in the transfer portal at quarterback, Hugh Freeze might just have his next quarterback as the summer months approach.
The team started T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford at quarterback a season ago. Backup Holden Geriner threw just three passes in his lone appearance of the season. Finley and Ashford threw for a combined 1,944 yards with 8 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Ashford was the starter for most of the season and he finished as the second-leading rusher ahead of projected starter Jarquez Hunter.
Adding Thorne gives the team an experienced starter at the quarterback position as Freeze prepares for his first season back in the SEC. While Ashford provided some monster plays with his legs in 2022, he is a liability as a passer until he develops in the pocket.
It could be that former Michigan State Spartan and Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterbacks will go head-to-head in the Iron Bowl.
Payton Thorne against Tyler Buchner, just like we all thought.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=15]
[mm-video type=video id=01gz5e4n8rv827718n7c playlist_id=01gq2fszf7mxxc88k4 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gz5e4n8rv827718n7c/01gz5e4n8rv827718n7c-04c8ad840da7755714c23c0eb71df8dc.jpg]