After landing help from the transfer portal for the offensive line, running back, and receiver, Auburn needed just one more addition at quarterback to truly feel comfortable heading into the 2023 season.
They have gotten that in Michigan State transfer [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag].
[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] landed Thorne out of the transfer portal in order to compete with incumbent starter [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] for the starting quarterback role. Thorne brings experience to the Plains, which will be needed if the Tigers plan on making a statement in Freeze’s first season.
Following the closing of the spring transfer portal window, the team at Mike Farrell Sports ranked the top five additions to SEC programs. At the top of the list was none other than Thorne.
Thorne’s entry into the portal came as a surprise to most. While he had some struggles, which included 21 interceptions over the last two seasons, he also experienced his fair share of success during his time in East Lansing. So, when he became available, there was plenty of immediate buzz about his potential landing spot. Some of the loudest buzz revolved around Auburn, who quickly made Thorne a priority after striking out on a couple of other portal possibilities. Now that the Tigers have Thorne, he will have to earn the starting job against Robby Ashford. While this is far from a forgone conclusion, adding a quarterback with two years of starting experience does make him the likely starter when the season opens in September.
Thorne comes to Auburn after competing in 29 games at Michigan State from 2020-22. In that time, he completed 525 of 861 passes for 6,493 yards and 49 touchdowns.
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