Auburn football's Hugh Freeze explains why he chose Payton Thorne to start at quarterback
AUBURN — Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne is Auburn football's starting quarterback.
Coach Hugh Freeze made the announcement Thursday, selecting Thorne over incumbent starter Robby Ashford and redshirt freshman Holden Geriner. Thorne spent four seasons with the Spartans before entering the portal and transferring to the Plains earlier this year.
Freeze broke down his decision, ultimately citing Thorne's experience as a big reason.
"To this point, I think the separation (and) the reason Payton is getting the nod, is just the leadership ability and the understanding of the offense," Freeze said Thursday. "He's been in some really good battles, and it just seems like he was more efficient in the decision-making to this point. Not that the others were terrible by any means.
“It was not a slam dunk. I hope that everyone will handle it right. This is happening in a lot of places, (the) NFL, here. You compete, and you continue to compete. And trust me, once someone gets that job they have to hold onto it. Hopefully the others work every day to press to make me feel like I need to second-guess that. That’s the hope."
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Thorne led Michigan State to an 11-2 record in 2021 and finished his career with the Spartans with 6,493 passing yards and 49 passing touchdowns.
"The guy's in here all the time," Freeze said of Thorne. "I can't get rid of him. He wants to know the ins and outs of everything I'm thinking or (offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery) is thinking on every aspect of our passing game, run game.
"He's a pro at knowing how to prepare. That gives you a comfort level that you just know — you feel like he's going to have the right mindset and understanding of the game plan, be mature — and you're hoping the others are, also. But you're pretty confident he is by the way he approaches every day."
Ashford, who started the final nine games of the season for Auburn in 2022, is now in a battle with Geriner, who made one appearance as a freshman last season, to be Thorne's understudy.
"Let me say this first: I totally believe that Robby and Holden, we can win games with any of the three," Freeze said. " ... I'm hoping that all three will handle that news extremely well and continue to work, because I believe with all my heart Robby Ashford gives us an absolute better chance to win the game if he accepts this news and continues to work and develops himself, because he might be the most freakish athlete I've ever had at quarterback."
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: Why Hugh Freeze made Payton Thorne the starting QB
