"Roby Ashford sucks": CFB world reacts to Hugh Freeze's Payton Thorne decision
Payton Thorne is expected to be given a shot at the starting quarterback position by Auburn Tigers coach Hugh Freeze.
According to On3's Auburn Live, Thorne has the starting position locked, with Freeze having made his decision. The former Michigan State Spartan had sophomore Robby Ashford and freshman Holden Geriner vying for the role.
Coach Freeze is expected to address the media today and on Saturday. It is not clear if he will make his decision public. However, he did say last week that he had "made up his mind."
With the rumor mill running wild with speculation about the starter QB role, some Auburn fans on Reddit seemed ready to move on from Robby Ashford after a mediocre 2022 season.
One Redditor wrote:
"Robby Ashford sucks so it would have been more surprising if Thorne lost the job."
Others were surprised at the number of transfer QBs in the SEC:
"For as much sh*t as the B1G gets for poor QB play there sure seem to be a lot of B1G rejects who end up starting in the SEC"
Meanwhile, some Spartans seem ready to cheer Thorne on:
Others believe his future rests on his ability to survive till Week 5:
Some MSU fans will be watching Payton Thorne and the Tigers this season:
Another fan had things to say about Thorne's time at Michigan State:
With Hugh Freeze having made up his mind, Auburn fans are looking forward to seeing Thorne on the field:
Payton Thorne Michigan State numbers
Payton Thorne redshirted on his first season with the Michigan State Spartans in 2019. In 2020 he played four games as a backup for Rocky Lombardi, throwing for 582 yards with three touchdowns. Most of those came in his first career start against Penn State, where the signal caller accrued three touchdowns.
In 2021, Thorne threw for 3232 yards with 27 touchdowns, and the Spartans racked up an 11-1 record. In 2022, he was named to the Maxwell Award's shortlist, but the season ended up disappointing for Thorne.
While he had a slightly higher completion percentage, 62.5 vs. 60.4 in 2021, he threw for just 2679 yards. Nonetheless, he was in the running for the starting job in the 2023 season in his redshirt senior year.
Payton Thorne and his transfer to Auburn
Payton Thorne unexpectedly entered the transfer portal on April 30. At the time, Thorne was expected to retain his starting position with the Michigan State Spartans for another season.
He was in a battle for the starting role with backup QB Noah Kim, but according to ESPN, a source at Michigan State was surprised he was being considered for a transfer.
His move to Auburn meant Thorne was now battling for the Tigers' starting position with fellow transferee from the University of Oregon, Robby Ashford. The transfer was supposed to give coach Hugh Freeze some depth at the QB position, with redshirt freshman Holden Geriner also on the roster.
Can Payton Thorne make it 4-0 at Auburn?
Playing in the ever-competitive Southeastern Conference, there's an important debate about how well the Tigers can perform over the first month before they get into those tough conference matchups with the likes of LSU, Georgia and Alabama.
Thorne and company should blow UMass out of the water in Week 1, with a somewhat more important test in Week 2 against Cal. That's a matchup Auburn should win against a team that didn't fair great last year with a 4-8 record.
Let's not forget the Tigers come from a 5-8 season themselves, but the SEC is considerably tougher than the Pac-12.
Week 3 against Samford should be a breeze for Auburn. However, the real test comes in Week 4 with the first in-conference matchup against No.23 Texas A&M Aggies.
This would be the real test for Auburn fans to start dreaming of a bowl season. If Thorne makes it to Week 5 with a 4-0 record, he can be sure that the QB job is his for the rest of the year.