Auburn fans felt that the program’s need for a quarterback disappeared when Michigan State transfer [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] committed to the program.
Thorne arrived on campus quickly and began learning the system. However, he is inexperienced when it comes to working with [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag], [autotag]Philip Montgomery[/autotag], and even his new offensive line and wide receivers.
Because of this, Thorne will need time to reach his full potential on the Plains suggests one college football analyst.
On a recent episode of The Hard Count, On3’s JD PicKell discussed Thorne’s adjustment to Auburn. PicKell says that Thorne’s late arrival may delay his journey to reach his full potential and that Auburn fans may need to exercise patience.
“Payton Thorne is showing up and this is going to be a brand new offense to him, a brand new staff, brand new teammates,” PicKell said. “It takes some time to mesh at any position if you miss spring practice, let alone as the quarterback. And this offense is going to go through the quarterback.”
Not only does he need to take time to mesh with his new teammates, but he will need to learn to be nearly flawless in an RPO system.
“The RPO scheme you put a lot on the quarterback’s plate,” PicKell said. “Whether or not you’re asking him to do a ton physically, you’re asking him to do a ton mentally from being up to speed with the scheme and knowing where to go with the football.”
PicKell goes on to suggest that if Thorne needs more time to adjust to Auburn, it is a good thing to have a player like [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] in the chamber. Ashford has a year under his belt on the Plains and worked with Freeze in spring practice.
In conclusion, the competition between Ashford and Thorne may be closer than we think. Thorne’s ability to grasp the new system, and how quickly he can do so, will make the difference at quarterback this season.
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