Hayes: Hugh Freeze has a QB he can trust, and now Auburn is hunting a bowl bid
By Matt Hayes
Published:
He took hold of this thing realistically, carefully avoiding the fanciful trap every 1st-year coach inevitably falls into.
Instead of the ridiculous dream of instantly flipping bad to good while playing in the best conference in college football, there was a more tangible, reachable goal for Hugh Freeze in his debut season at Auburn.
Play games that matter in November.
“We’re looking to become bowl eligible,” Freeze said this week. “I think that’s big in Year 1.”
Especially considering what he walked into.
Beyond the drama and infighting that has defined the Auburn program through good and bad for half a century, beyond the months of getting all of those fragmented parts off the field back on the same page, Freeze arrived on The Plains with a significant issue.
He didn’t have a quarterback who could win games in the SEC.
That, of course, leads to this important question moving forward: Is Michigan State transfer QB Payton Thorne’s recent success a product of finally playing comfortably and freely in a new system — or a result of Auburn getting a break from a brutal schedule?
Thorne has played his best the past 2 weeks in wins over Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, which are high in the running for the 2 worst teams in the SEC. That comes on the heels of an entire season of uncertainty, of playing well in spots and poorly in others — and getting pulled at times for backup Robby Ashford.
We’re more than 2 months into the season, and Freeze hasn’t so much figured out the right move at quarterback as he has found one who consistently knows what do to.
“I believe Payton’s skill-sets are the most prepared for what we are doing,” Freeze said.
For the first time this season, Freeze is speaking with clarity about the quarterback position. He’s not couching words, he’s not trying keep backups Ashford and Holden Geriner happy and engaged.
Thorne is most prepared for what Auburn wants and needs offensively — beyond the need to win 1 more game and become bowl eligible — because of what he can do beyond making a throw. He recognizes and understands coverages and fronts, he sets protections, he manages the huddle and plays with tempo.
All critical things — and all have looked much sharper in the past 2 weeks of the season. Where was all of this before, you ask?
It’s all in the transition. You can’t expect a quarterback to leave a program after spring practice and enroll at Auburn — missing those 15 critical practices — and roll into summer workouts and camp and it’s all easy-peasy.
It’s the most important position on the field for a reason. Beyond the crucial need to throw accurately and on time and with anticipation, Thorne didn’t know SEC defenses. Didn’t understand the complexities.
During his magical 2019 season, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow said the most difficult transition from playing as a backup at Ohio State to starting at LSU was adjusting to defenses in the SEC. It’s a line of scrimmage league, and more than anything, Big Ten teams typically play Cover 4 base pass coverage.
In the SEC, it’s 2 safeties high and man coverage underneath, and more times than not, you’re making a tight window throw.
So is it as simple as Thorne is now 9 games into the season, and that’s why he completed 70% of his passes and had 5 TD and only 1 INT in the last 2 games? Is he seeing the field better, or is it that he’s no longer seeing Texas A&M, Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss in consecutive weeks?
More than likely, it’s a little of both. That doesn’t mean it won’t be difficult Saturday at Arkansas, which has lost 5 games this season by 1 possession and is playing much better than a 3-win team.
The Tigers are growing offensively, there’s no denying that. They’ve had scoring plays in the passing game of 53, 46 and 27 yards in the past 2 weeks, and the overall operation is getting smoother — despite 7 drops against Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
It’s most certainly not the dangerous and dynamic pass offense that Freeze has had in the past at Ole Miss and Liberty, but — and here’s the key — it may no longer be a liability.
“We played with confidence and swagger last week,” Freeze said. “We had some explosive plays, but it should have been more. The more we are successful doing that, the more confidence and swagger our kids play with.”
There’s no better time than November to make that happen.
Matt Hayes is a national college football writer for Saturday Down South. You can hear him daily from 12-3 p.m. on 1010XL in Jacksonville. Follow on Twitter @MattHayesCFB
