Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers are gearing up for a Week 12 matchup with UL Monroe. The 3-6 Tigers have struggled this season and now need to run the table to secure bowl eligibility.

A big part of the team’s struggles has been quarterback play. QB Payton Thorne was benched and reinserted as the starter and has now been dealing with a shoulder injury. The QB suffered the injury against Vanderbilt, but recently told reporters that he probably could have played last week if necessary.

On Wednesday, however, Freeze pumped the brakes on a Thorne return. The coach said Thorne needs to make more progress.

“Not as far along as I’d hoped with the shoulder,” Freeze said on the SEC teleconference. “He thinks he’s going to be fine, but he was not ready to play yesterday, for sure.”

If Thorne can’t play against UL Monroe, it will be the first game he’s missed due to injury in his 6-year college career. The veteran QB has started in 5 straight games after being reinserted as the starter. In that time, Thorne has completed 65.7% of his passes for 1,125 yards with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Freeze also mentioned that all of Auburn’s QBs would be evaluated during this week of practice. The coach stressed that this wasn’t an indictment of Thorne’s play, but rather thinking “big picture.”

“It’s certainly not an indication that I don’t think he’s played pretty solid here as of late,” Freeze said of Thorne. “You start thinking big picture. That’s not always the easiest thing to do, because you love your players.”

The Tigers will kick off against the Warhawks on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET.

Bryce Lazenby

Bryce Lazenby covers college football for Saturday Down South. A Nashville native, his previous stops include FanSided, Dimers, and The Leaf-Chronicle.