Tag: payton thorne

Leadership is strong within Auburn’s QB room

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is pleased with his quarterbacks’ desire to get better ahead of Saturday’s A-Day game.

Auburn fans are set to flock to the Plains this weekend to watch Auburn’s annual A-Day game. One of the many aspects that fans will be watching this Saturday is the quarterback rotation.

[autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] is set to return as Auburn’s incumbent starter, but returners [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag] and [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag], as well as true freshman [autotag]Walker White[/autotag], are working towards taking the starting role.

How have Auburn’s quarterbacks progressed? Head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] says that they are not where he would like for them to be, but there is one aspect of the room that he is truly impressed with.

“Leadership has been really good,” Freeze said. “Our decision-making has not been exactly what I want it to be just yet, but, boy, they’re hungry to learn.”

According to a report by Richard Silva of The Montgomery Advertiser, Thorne continues to see the most action with the first team this spring due to his experience in the role, as well as his understanding of opposing defenses. It appears that the backup competition is between Geriner and Brown. Geriner has taken the most second-team snaps, while Brown is looking to build off of his Music City Bowl outing where he passed for 132 yards.

When it comes to White, Silva says that he appears more experienced than his age would lead everyone to believe. Earlier this spring, Thorne told reporters that White is great at asking questions, and is eager to learn as much as he can.

A-Day is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. CT at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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SEC quarterback rankings ahead of 2024 spring football

Where does Jackson Arnold rank among SEC quarterbacks heading into spring ball?

As the SEC expands to 16 teams in 2024, the conference is stacked at the quarterback position. From former five-star prospects to 2024 Heisman contenders to intriguing transfer additions, there will be some fantastic quarterback play on display this fall in the SEC.

Seven of the last nine Heisman winners have come from Oklahoma and the SEC. Two of those seven were non-quarterbacks, DeVonta Smith and Derrick Henry.

Much of what will determine which teams emerge as SEC title and College Football Playoff contenders will be on the shoulders of the quarterbacks who will lead their team in 2024.

There are some quarterback competitions that need to take place, but here’s our pre-spring ball SEC quarterback rankings.

 

Auburn Tigers set date for 2024 A-Day spring game

The Auburn Tigers will play their annual A-Day spring game on April 6.

The start of spring practice is just around the corner and the Auburn Tigers football program announced that the 2024 A-Day spring game will be held on April 6.

The Tigers have not yet announced the spring practice schedule or any more details for the game, such as a time or if it will be on TV.

The spring practice window will be an important time for [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] ahead of his second season on the Plains. The Tigers replaced both coordinators after ending the season on a three-game losing streak to drop to 6-7, their third straight losing season. [autotag]Derrick Nix[/autotag] was named the offensive coordinator and running backs coach, while the defensive coordinator spot has not been filled yet.

The spring practice slate will Auburn’s incoming freshmen to start to learn the offense and make a push for early playing time, especially at wide receiver where they signed five-star [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag] and [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag]. The Tigers are hoping the talented freshman and a reworked offensive staff will allow [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and the passing attack to take a step forward.

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Former Auburn QB T.J. Finley returns to transfer portal

Finley, who played for Auburn from 2021-22, is back in the portal after serving as Texas State’s starting quarterback in 2023.

After enjoying the best season of his collegiate career in 2023, former Auburn quarterback T.J. Finley has returned to the transfer portal according to a report by Pete Nakos of On3.

Finley departed from Auburn following spring practice, concluding a two-year stint on the Plains. He elected to transfer to Texas State, where he thrived under first-year head coach GJ Kinne. He completed 279-of-414 passes for 3,439 yards and 28 touchdowns, which was by far his most productive season as a college quarterback.

Finley announced publicly on Jan. 12 that he was planning to return to Texas State. However, he changed his mind following the announcement of former Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura’s decision to transfer to Texas State.

Finley transferred to Auburn from LSU and served as Auburn’s starting quarterback for the final two games of the 2021 season and the first three games of the 2022 season before a shoulder injury limited his role with the offense, paving the way for [autotag]Robbie Ashford[/autotag] to take on the starting quarterback position. Finley remained with the team, and went through the first spring practice under Hugh Freeze before electing to depart from the program days before [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] transferred to Auburn from Michigan State.

Finley passed for 1,258 yards and seven touchdowns in two seasons at Auburn. Prior to his time with Auburn, he passed for 941 yards and five touchdowns during the 2020 season at LSU.

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Transfer destination for Robby Ashford is revealed

The former Auburn quarterback is expected to remain in the SEC according to a report by 247Sports.

Ahead of Auburn’s trip to Nashville to compete in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl, quarterback [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] announced his intention to enter the transfer portal. On Tuesday, Brad Crawford and Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reported that Ashford had found a new home.

According to the report, Ashford is expected to remain in the SEC and transfer to South Carolina.

Ashford joined Auburn’s roster in 2022 via transfer from Oregon and served as the starting quarterback for most of the season following an injury to previous starter, [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag]. However, he never returned to the starter role for the 2023 season under new head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]. He split time with Michigan State transfer [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] before Thorne ultimately took over the starter role in November.

Ashford’s Auburn career closes with 1,758 passing yards and nine touchdowns. As a rusher, he gained 927 yards and added 12 additional touchdowns.

Ashford will now compete for the starting quarterback job at South Carolina. Previous starter, Spencer Rattler, is set to take the next step in his career by declaring for the NFL draft. He will challenge favorite Luke Doty for the role.

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Is Will Rogers a perfect fit for Auburn?

On3’s Pete Nakos believes that one season of Will Rogers could benefit the future of Auburn’s quarterback room.

An eventful week in Seattle has led to one of the nation’s top college quarterbacks to return to the transfer portal.

Following the departure of head coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama, former Mississippi State quarterback [autotag]Will Rogers[/autotag] has decided to back off his pledge to Washington and has re-entered the transfer portal. Ryan Haley of College Sports Wire lists Auburn as a potential landing spot for Rogers, and Pete Nakos of On3 has similar sentiments.

In a recent interview with On3’s Andy Staples, Nakos mentioned that he has spoken with Rogers since his re-entry into the transfer portal. Rogers tells Nakos that he is open to every option on the table, including a return to Washington.

If he elects not to play for new Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch, could Auburn be the best suitor? Rogers has one season of eligibility remaining, which could benefit Auburn’s quarterback room while true freshman [autotag]Walker White[/autotag] develops Nakos says.

“[Auburn] is going to try to add a quarterback one way or the other.. They’re not going to take a quarterback with like three years of eligibility left. There’s Walker White, the freshman, coming in, who’s really highly-touted and really highly thought of. They want him to be the guy in the years to come.”

In four seasons as the primary starter at Mississippi State, Rogers passed for 12,315 yards and 94 touchdowns while holding a 69.3 completion percentage. Auburn returns three scholarship quarterbacks, including incumbent starter [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag], for the 2024 season.

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Where does Payton Thorne rank in College Sports Wire’s SEC QB re-rank?

Thorne had a challenging first season on the Plains. How does his 2023 campaign rank among the rest of the SEC’s quarterbacks?

It is easy to say that [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] had a challenging first season as Auburn’s starting quarterback.

The Michigan State transfer began the season in a split role with [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] before ultimately taking over the role as the permanent starting quarterback in November. He would go on to throw for just 1,755 yards and 16 touchdowns during the 2023 season and would pass for less than 100 yards in five games.

Where does his performance stack up against the likes of LSU‘s Jayden Daniels, Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, and Alabama‘s Jalen Milroe? College Sports Wire breaks it down.

College Sports Wire’s Ryan Haley ranked each SEC quarterback by production during the 2023 season. Unfortunately for Thorne, he ranks near the bottom. Haley places Thorne in the No. 13 slot due to inconsistency in the passing game.

Despite the limited work, he was still one of two SEC passers to throw 10 interceptions this season, and he finished with the same number of big-time throws as turnover-worthy plays. The Auburn offense rarely asked Thorne to push the ball downfield, with 166 of his 265 attempts traveling within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. He struggled to navigate the pocket, pressured on only 89 of his dropbacks but taking a staggering 32 sacks.

Haley places Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU at the top of the list with Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, Georgia‘s Carson Beck, Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, and Missouri’s Brady Cook rounding out the top five. Vanderbilt’s AJ Swann is the lone quarterback ranked lower than Thorne on Haley’s list.

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Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter will return for senior season.

Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter will return for senior season.

Auburn’s best offensive player from this past season is officially returning to the Plains in 2024.

Running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter [/autotag]announced his intentions to return for his senior season on Friday. His commitment adds another piece to what should be the Tigers’ best group of skill-position players in some time.

The Philadelphia, MS native had his best season on the Plains in 2023, surpassing 1,000 all-purpose yards while scoring the most touchdowns on the team.

After struggling out of the gate, Hunter went on to average well over 100 rushing yards per game over Auburn’s final five SEC contests.

Auburn’s “RB1” was arguably the best offensive player in the SEC over the Tigers 3-game win streak against Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas, accumulating over 400 yards on 7.4 yards per carry in three games.

Hunter also had a great Iron Bowl, rushing 14 times for 93 yards. One of those 14 carries went for 42 yards to set up Auburn’s first touchdown of the afternoon.

Barring injury, Auburn’s top back should crack the all-time top 10 list in rushing yards by a Tiger. He’ll enter his senior season 537 yards behind 10th-place Ronnie Brown. Hunter could feasibly crack the top 6 with another near 1,000 yard season.

The senior’s return instantly gives a stable, familiar face to what could be a brand-new looking [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] offense.

Whether it’s incumbent [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag], freshmen [autotag]Walker White[/autotag], or a transfer portal quarterback taking snaps under center for Auburn in 2024, they’ll be confident knowing Hunter is in the backfield with them.

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Robby Ashford among top quarterbacks remaining in transfer portal

Brad Crawford of 247Sports considers the former Auburn quarterback one of the best available transfer portal options.

Former Auburn quarterback [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] is still looking for a new home. However, he may cash in his luck sooner rather than later.

Following the announcement of Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa’s decision to enter the transfer portal, Brad Crawford of 247Sports updated his list of the top quarterbacks remaining in the transfer portal. Out of all the available quarterbacks, Ashford checks in at No. 8.

Ashford is above Arizona transfer Jayden de Laura and New Mexico State transfer Diego Pavia on Crawford’s list. Crawford recaps Ashford’s brief but productive two-year stay in Auburn.

After initially transferring to Auburn from Oregon per Auburn Undercover, Ashford was Auburn’s primary starting quarterback during the 2022 season, taking over for nine games after T.J. Finley’s early season injury. Ashford completed 49.2 percent of his passes for 1,613 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] said following his team’s loss to Maryland in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl that the quarterback competition at Auburn is “wide open” for the 2024 season. He did not indicate that he would be looking into the transfer portal for his next starter, however, there are many solid options available such as USC‘s Malachi Nelson, James Madison’s Jordan McCloud, and Matthew Sluka at Holy Cross.

Auburn will head into spring practice with four quarterbacks set to compete for the open position: [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag], [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag], [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag], and true freshman [autotag]Walker White[/autotag].

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Hugh Freeze likely to take over play calling for Auburn in 2024

Hugh Freeze likely to take over play calling for Auburn in 2024

Auburn Football’s major staff shakeup has continued.

Just a day after parting ways with offensive coordinator [autotag]Phillip Montgomery[/autotag], head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] will reportedly be taking over the play-calling for the Tigers in 2024.

Freeze took a more hands-on approach to the offense after Auburn started the 2023 SEC season 0-4. [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] and the running game immediately took a step forward, winning three straight games while averaging over 35 points per contest.

Auburn’s offense was also great in the Iron Bowl loss as the trio of running backs [autotag]Jarquez Hunter,[/autotag] [autotag]Damari Alston[/autotag], and quarterback Thorne combined to rush for just under 250 yards.

The Tigers’ head coach decided to take a step back from play-calling for the Music City Bowl to focus on recruiting.

The offense was anemic in Nashville.

Scoring only 10 points against a Maryland defense that didn’t have a great season, Auburn brass decided to ultimately part ways with Montgomery.

Auburn’s head coach is also expected to promote analyst Kent Austin to the quarterbacks coach. Austin was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Freeze at Liberty.

While Freeze is set to take over the play-calling, Auburn will surely be looking for a new offensive coordinator over the coming weeks.

With the transfer portal still heating up and the new recruiting class slowly finding their way to the Plains, it would help the Tigers if they could find one sooner than later.

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