For any group to succeed, all of its parts must do at least a portion of their part to help reach the goal. It doesn't matter what kind of company, organization, team or whatever we bring up. If sections of that unit aren't living up to expectations, nothing will be accomplished.

As good as Cam Newton was during his national championship year at Auburn, he also had a veteran offensive line, a slew of explosive receivers, 24 seniors and a running back room that could be counted on to pound the rock. Newton got most of the credit, and rightfully so. Not many players, if any, dominated the way he did, but without those by his side, he wouldn't have likely been the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft nor led the Tigers to their first national title since 1957.

That brings us to Payton Thorne and the 2024 Auburn Tigers. No, I am not comparing Thorne to Newton. That would be insane of me, but there are some things that the current Auburn quarterback can do following a lackluster 2023 this season, one of which he called strange.

"Last year was obviously, like I said before, a unique situation," Thorne said. "It was weird, and there were a lot of things that were out of my control, and that was one of them. But now, with us all being on the same page about what we're doing, and we're still materializing some of that stuff, and we're still working through the specifics of certain things, but from a week-to-week basis, I think that, like coach said, I feel really good with where we're at now, and I feel like I have a really good understanding of what Coach Freeze is trying to do."

Go back and watch Thorne's 2021 highlights and see what he can do with talent. He had players around him that could get open, beat their opponent and, yes, even hold onto the ball once it came to them. When you have that around you, you gain confidence.

Last year, he had none at wide receiver. Besides tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, there was not one pass-catcher that Thorne could trust to run the correct route, outwit and outrun his defender and come down with those 50-50 balls. When you lose confidence in not only them but much of your offensive line, bad thoughts start entering your head. It would be much like if you or I were surrounded by co-workers who always messed up the assignment. Trust would be lost, and work would be difficult.

The coaching staff's communication is better, and clarity and belief in the offense trend upward. Last season, no one seemed to be on the same page, and that spilled over to the field on Saturdays.

So when Thorne gets that talent around him as he does now, it is up to him to live up to his part. He's the quarterback at an SEC school and has to deal with all the pressure that comes with that. If the team wins, he will be praised. If the Tigers fail, the fault will shift toward him.

It's up to him. Super Bowls have been won with less-than-great quarterbacks because of the sheer amount of playmakers around him. And great quarterbacks haven't won the big one due to the team being less than worthy.

Thorne doesn't need to be a Heisman winner or even All-SEC, but solid enough to utilize those 10 teammates on the field with them. The potential is there. The leadership is there. Now, he must perform.