Auburn quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] may be new to the program, but he has plenty of experience as a quarterback at the Power Five level.
In three seasons at Michigan State, Thorne passed for 6,501 yards and 49 touchdowns. He also led the Spartans to an 11-1 record in 2021 and a Peach Bowl victory over Pittsburgh.
Thorne has plenty of potential heading into the season with his new squad, which is why The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation has listed him as a possible candidate for their postseason award.
Thorne is one of 48 quarterbacks who were named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watchlist this week. According to the Golden Arm Foundation, the award annually recognizes the top senior or upperclassman quarterback set to graduate with their class.
Several top quarterbacks join Thorne on this list, including Arkansas‘ KJ Jefferson, Michigan‘s JJ McCarthy, and USC‘s Caleb Williams. Former Auburn quarterback [autotag]Bo Nix[/autotag] is also a part of this list with his current program, Oregon.
Max Duggan of TCU won last season’s award. Since 2000, four quarterbacks from the SEC have won the award: Eli Manning (2003), AJ McCarron (2013), Joe Burrow (2019), and Mac Jones (2020).
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1364]
Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__