First-year Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze put it simply and succinctly when he talked about the importance of having a quarterback like Robby Ashford on the roster.

“Robby Ashford is vital to us winning football games,” Freeze said. “We need him.”

That was evident last Saturday.

Although he may have lost his starting position to transfer Payton Thorne, Ashford remains a key player in the Tigers’ attack. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound sophomore scored 3 rushing touchdowns in Auburn’s 59-14 thumping of UMass in the 2023 season opener at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Ashford’s scoring dashes all came in the 2nd quarter on successive possessions at a time when the Tigers already held a 10-7 lead but were looking to display their dominance. Ashford played a huge role in helping them do just that.

While it was Thorne who drove the Tigers down the field, Ashford came off the bench each time with Auburn in the red zone to complete the touchdown marches. It started with the 1st play of the 2nd quarter when Ashford came off the bench to race 10 yards to the end zone.

He finished the next TD drive from the UMass 14-yard line with 3 consecutive runs of 6, 7 and 1 yard to reach the end zone. Ashford then finished off the barrage, scoring his 3rd and final TD on just 1 play. After a timeout, Ashford entered the game and scored on a 4-yard run.

His 3 rushing touchdowns put Ashford in good company. The last Auburn quarterback to score 3 rushing TDs was a fellow by the name of Cam Newton, who did it in 2010 vs. Arkansas.

It seems that Ashford has a knack for finding the end zone. He’s scored multiple rushing touchdowns 4 times now in his career and has now recorded 10 rushing TDs in his Auburn career.

On Saturday, he increased that 10-7 lead by scoring the Tigers’ next 3 TDs on those runs of 10, 1 and 4 yards, and when the dust settled Auburn held a commanding 31-7 advantage.

For the game, Ashford finished with 51 yards on 9 carries.

Perhaps somewhat overshadowed but certainly not overlooked was the play of the new starting quarterback. In his 1st start on The Plains, Thorne completed 10 of 17 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. He was efficient in moving the team up and down the field.

Thorne’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Jay Fair was the Michigan State transfer’s 1st TD as a Tiger and the 50th TD pass of his career.

And defensively, let’s not overlook the effort of Jaylin Simpson, who recorded his 1st interception of the season and 4th of his career, returning the pick 50 yards for a touchdown. He also came up with his 1st career fumble recovery in the win.

But it was Ashford who punctuated Auburn’s season-opening triumph and cemented his role as the season unfolds. Good size and excellent speed make him a prime go-to dual threat in the red zone and another option for Freeze to utilize near the opponents’ goal line.

Ashford’s passing accuracy still needs work — he was just 2 for 6 for 3 yards on Saturday (and is 125 for 256 with 7 interceptions for his career) — and is probably the only thing holding him back from a starting role.

Despite that, Ashford now has a valuable spot in Freeze’s system.

That’s not to say that Ashford can’t throw the ball. He does own a career-best, 337-yard passing game against LSU last season and a 285-yard passing game against Arkansas.

But Ashford also possesses a couple of 100-yard rushing games — 108 vs. Mississippi State and 121 vs. Alabama.

So, while Freeze is using the big, strong quarterback’s legs at the moment, Ashford remains a serious dual threat.

And that’s what keeps him in the game and keeps opposing defenses on their heels.