The Auburn Tigers saw senior quarterback Payton Thorne struggle significantly in a loss against Cal on Saturday. Hugh Freeze, the head coach, keeps the door open for a change.
Things did not go as planned for the Auburn Tigers versus Cal on Saturday.
One of Auburn’s most evident concerns was quarterback performance, as Payton Thorne threw four interceptions and could have had more because one was overturned and another was thrown back for defensive pass interference.
Hugh Freeze, Auburn’s head coach, is sticking with Payton Thorne for now because he believes Thorne still has the finest command of the offense.
“It’s really hard to not play a young man, whether it’s Payton (Thorne) or whoever else it is, who consistently is the best performer in practice, over and over and over,” Freeze said. “His execution of the offense, it’s been pretty clear to all of us throughout camp and throughout the practice weeks, his performance and his understanding of what we want to do has been better than the others.”
Despite his desire to stay with Thorne, Freeze admitted that a change would be necessary if quarterback play did not improve.
“I’m not going to tell you all something that’s not true, so could it, yes,” stated Freeze. “Do I believe I want to see how the week goes before making a final decision? Yes. I want to watch how everything goes and how everyone reacts to what’s on the tape. We discussed it all the time: the integrity of your life, and tape isn’t always enjoyable. That is something I have experienced, as has everyone else. And we have to feel it in public, and you have to own it. “And you must make the necessary changes.”
Freeze said that Hank Brown, who is now Auburn’s backup quarterback, will have opportunities to demonstrate what he can do throughout the week.
“Meeting with both of them individually after we get out of here and going through that cut-up reel and them seeing how all of that goes, and we will go from there,” he said. “Hank (Brown) will get his fair share of reps this week.” I expect them both to approach it correctly and have a successful week of practice. But, once again, I believe that it is no longer sufficient to rely solely on practical execution. We’ll need that to carry over into the game, as I’ve seen, but there will also be instances when you scratch your head and wonder, “What are we doing?”
If Auburn fails to improve its passing game this week, Freeze may be forced to make this decision sooner than expected.
