Tigers of the Game: Auburn fans get taste of Payton Thorne’s potential
Auburn knocked off Samford, 45-13, on Saturday, and several players played a role in the big win.
Offensively, six players recorded a carry while ten players caught at least one pass. At the quarterback position, both Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford completed 75% of their passes.
During the opening statement of his postgame press conference, head coach Hugh Freeze says that he was pleased with several aspects of Auburn’s win.
“They are always sweet,” Freeze said of Auburn’s win. “I thought there were some really good things tonight, and obviously, some things we still need to work on and clean up. But congratulations to our kids and staff for going 2-0 at Jordan-Hare and 3-0 for the season.”
Following the game, Auburn Wire writers as well as Auburn fans revealed their picks for “Tiger of the Game” after the solid win, here are the results.
Taylor Jones: Payton Thorne
What a coming-out party for Payton Thorne. Thorne nearly copied his stat line from his previous two games in the first half of Saturday’s win and ended with 405 total yards.
JD McCarthy: Jaylin Simpson
A message to opposing quarterbacks… check for Jaylin Simpson before throwing your next pass.
Simpson hauled in his third interception of the season in Saturday’s win. He is the first Tiger to record an interception in three straight games since Jerrard Powers did so in 2007.
Brian Hauch: Jay Fair
The best performance of Jay Fair’s season took place on Saturday. He hauled in a season-high seven passes for 93 yards. He has averaged over 10 yards per catch in all three games this season.
Fan vote: Payton Thorne
Auburn fans have spoken, and this week’s fan favorite is quarterback Payton Thorne. Thorne won this week’s competition by earning 89.8% of the vote from fans on X (formerly known as Twitter).
To participate in next week’s “Tiger of the Game” vote, visit Auburn Wire on X following Auburn’s game at Texas A&M to cast your vote.
