Hugh Freeze took a chance this offseason by opting not to get a quarterback out of the transfer portal. The Auburn head coach put his belief in Payton Thorne despite the struggles he saw from the quarterback last season.
The belief was that the pure amount of talented wide receivers the Tigers were bringing in would make a difference for Thorne and the Auburn offense heading into 2024. Two games into this season, Freeze benched Thorne and handed the keys to redshirt freshman Hank Brown. After a game against overmatched New Mexico, Brown got benched after a horrendous first half against Arkansas that included three interceptions and 72 passing yards.
Thorne came back in, but he wasn't much better. Other than a long touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith on 4th and 2 that cut the Razorbacks' lead to 17-14, he was more of his mediocre self. The end result was a frustrating 24-14 loss to a Hogs' team picked to finish 14th out of 16 in the SEC.
And waiting for this passing offense are Oklahoma, Georgia (yikes!), Missouri and Kentucky. The answers aren't there, and much of that lies in Freeze's decision not to go after a quarterback. There were some good ones out there, including Cam Ward, Riley Leonard, and others who would have made an immediate upgrade to the position for the Tigers. But Freeze stayed put with Thorne, and now Auburn sits at 2-2 after embarrassing losses to Cal and Arkansas.
There would still be some growing pains this season, but the Tigers' schedule set up for what looked like an easy 4-0 start heading into the matchup against the Sooners. Instead, the season hangs on the brink with the real threat of a losing season, Auburn's fifth in a row, becoming a reality.
Freeze and his staff need to look in the mirror this week and find some kind of solution, any kind, to fix this glaring hole behind center for Auburn. The quarterback play has been so bad against Power 5 opponents that there are no reasons to think that any game this season is a sure lock of a victory. Teams are licking their chops, looking forward to facing Thorne or Brown, whoever is the sacrificial lamb of the day. It comes back to the decision not to upgrade despite evidence pointing toward the fact that it was needed.
Auburn is in an unstable position right now, and it could get worse if recruits start to back off their pledges. And while there is some reason to panic, the real attack will come if this goes off the rails Billy Napier-style in Gainesville.
Following the loss, Freeze was asked how he will go about the quarterback position now.
"I have no idea sitting here right now, but I'll go back to work tomorrow," he said. "I'll be as locked in as I've ever been to try to get it fixed."
Fair, but there doesn't seem to be a fix to this problem.
Freeze had the option to bring in a transfer quarterback. His decision not to is currently blowing up in his and Auburn's faces.
