Out of all the transfers that Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers have landed since December, the one that has the ability to make the most impact is quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag].
Thorne played three seasons at Michigan State before transferring to Auburn, with two full seasons of starting experience. That resume will be important to Auburn’s offense, as they prepare to go into full rebuild mode under Freeze and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery.
High qualifications, however, lead to high expectations. In a recent episode of The Hard Count podcast from On3, host J.D. PicKell shared his list of quarterbacks that will begin the season “in a pressure cooker”, and Thorne, of course, made the cut.
PicKell says that he understands the newfound optimism that has graced Auburn with Thorne’s signing, and says that the Tigers’ offense will only be as good as Thorne is on any given Saturday.
“You know what you’re getting in him. He’s a starter. He’s had solid production throughout the course of his career. But he’s the batteries for this offense at Auburn,” PicKell said. “Make no mistake about it, the offense under Hugh Freeze at Auburn will go as Payton Thorne goes.”
PicKell also referenced Auburn’s impressive transfer portal haul when discussing the improvements to the program, but doubles down on his claim that the energy and attitude of Auburn’s offense will run through Thorne, so it will be important for him to play at a high level every single snap.
“(Auburn) did a lot through the portal. Have one of the top portal classes this cycle. Payton Thorne being a part of that portal class. But if Payton Thorne doesn’t bring his a-game, if he doesn’t allow the offense to operate because he’s not up to speed, or he’s making mistakes, he’s not consistent, whatever it ends up being, they will go as Payton Thorne goes,” PicKell said.
Thorne passed for 6,493 yards and 49 touchdowns in three seasons at Michigan State. He led the Spartans to 10 wins and a Peach Bowl victory in 2021 before a lower-body injury in the Spartans’ opener against Western Michigan slowed down his production during the 2022 season.
Check out the entire segment of PicKell’s breakdown on The Hard Count below:
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