Auburn football's Payton Thorne on QB competition: 'I don’t think it was anything that was toxic'

AUBURN — Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze finally put an end to his team's quarterback competition last week, naming Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne the starter for the season opener against UMass on Sept. 2.

Thorne, who transferred to the Tigers after spending four seasons with the Spartans, beat out incumbent starter Robby Ashford and redshirt freshman Holden Geriner for the role.

"I thought it was good, a good, healthy competition," Thorne said Wednesday of the QB race. "I don’t think it was anything that was toxic like sometimes quarterback competitions can be. I have a lot of respect for Robby. We’re still obviously talking and everything is still good. But it was a good competition.

"As far as the last part of the question (Ashford's role), that’s not really up to me. Coach will figure that out and I’m going to leave that up to him. I’m just going to focus on executing what I need to when I’m in the game."

THORNE'S DECISION: Why Payton Thorne chose to join Hugh Freeze at Auburn football

ROBBY ASHFORD: Payton Thorne is Auburn football's starting QB. What's the plan with Robby Ashford?

Freeze gave a positive review of Ashford's performance since the announcement that Thorne would be atop the depth chart, saying the sophomore had his three best practices of the preseason immediately following the decision.

"I'm really proud of him, and he's going to push Payton," Freeze said of Ashford. "If he continues to play like this, Payton's going to have to play really well. I love the competition, and I think that's the only way you get better at this level."

Thorne, still making sure to get his respect for Ashford across, doesn't feel any extra motivation due to Ashford's recent performance.

"I don't think that matters, personally, because you're already thinking that yourself," Thorne said. "It's not like you get the job and you're like, 'Whew, now I can relax and do nothing.' You're still playing. You're still trying to play well. I'm focused on playing well for our team to win games. I'm not trying to play well to keep my job.

"If you're looking at it like that, it's like, why are you playing? You're not playing just to keep your job. You play to win. I'll be working as hard as I've ever worked right now. There's no relaxing or just chilling. We've got a big season ahead of us with a lot of great opponents. I've always thought I've needed to be on my game, so that doesn't change. That's the mindset that I'll take."

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: Payton Thorne: MSU transfer talks Auburn football QB competition