The Auburn Tigers are hoping for a better season from quarterback Payton Thorne, who now has more talented playmakers around him.
Thorne’s average passing stats, lack of reliable targets, and occasional poor pass protection contributed to the Tigers’ third straight losing record last season. After transferring from Michigan State, Thorne now has a full year of experience.
He also has a group of receivers that should help improve a passing offense that was among the least effective in the country last season. The Tigers will start their season on Aug. 31 against Alabama A&M.
The support from teammates is crucial for any quarterback. Thorne appreciates the new group of players Auburn has put around him for this season.
“People say it’s the ultimate team game, and it really is,” he said. “It’s tough. You’ve seen great quarterbacks in the NFL; if things start to fall apart around them, they’re still good. But they’re not the same as when they have all their pieces.
“It’s definitely a tough situation sometimes, and you just have to deal with what you’ve got at times.”
However, Thorne’s own performance needs to improve. Last season, he threw for 1,755 yards and 16 touchdowns with 10 interceptions and struggled in the bowl game.
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said that Thorne is in the leading position for the starting job after spring practice but did not confirm he has the job over Hank Brown and Holden Geriner. Brown seems to be Thorne’s backup going into the season.
Freeze brought in a strong group of receivers to replace a unit that didn’t have a single wideout reach 350 yards last season. Tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, the only main target returning, led the team with 38 catches for 394 yards.
Auburn added three transfers and four freshman receivers. Transfers KeAndre Lambert-Smith (from Penn State) and Robert Lewis (from Georgia State), along with five-star freshman Cam Coleman, are expected to be key players right away.
“I feel really good with where we’re at right now,” Thorne said. “We still have young guys. We still have four freshmen who are going to potentially play for us. That’s not exactly common.
And two, at the end of the day they’re still young. You can’t go out there and expect them to be these veteran receivers who know everything.
“There’s still going to be some times where you’re like, what the heck? But you remind yourself this kid was playing high school ball last year.” Coleman, he mentioned, has had few such issues.
With all these new targets, the Tigers are hoping Thorne can come closer to his performance at Michigan State. He passed for 6,494 yards in 29 games and had a 16-10 record as a starter for the Spartans.
He’s no longer learning Freeze’s offense from scratch.
“We’re totally different than last year,” Freeze said. “From the spring until now, his understanding of what the expectations are from him has grown leaps and bounds. He does some things out there right now that I’m really, really proud of.”
