Hugh Freeze breaks down where Auburn quarterbacks need to be better

Exiting spring football practice there are still major question marks about Auburn‘s quarterbacks, particularly in the wake of TJ Finley‘s impending departure through the NCAA transfer portal.

Spring ball just didn’t quite provide firm answers at the position, to the point that the Tigers are entertaining potential transfer options like Nebraska‘s Casey Thompson.

Coach Hugh Freeze had outlined some of the issues at quarterback a little before the spring officially wrapped up.

“We weren’t planning to install a ton because it’s so new and I want us to get really good at our base stuff,” Freeze said. “But I am hoping by the end of this week we feel like, ‘All right, their eyes are in the right spot, their decision was really good, now did they execute it?'”

The Auburn quarterbacks really struggled last fall, though that was with a different coaching staff.

Robby Ashford eventually took command of the job, but he finished the season with a 49.2% completion percentage and had just seven passing touchdowns against seven interceptions.

It was a far cry from being a productive season.

And of the three things Freeze outlined — eyes being in the right spot, making good decisions and executing — the Auburn quarterbacks came up a little short in spring.

“We’ve got to handle those first two. We’ve got to have their eyes in the right spot and whatever the progression and decision-making is has to be done correctly,” Freeze said. “Quarterback should be making the correct decision if he’s going to be your guy 85 to 95 percent of the time. And then you judge the execution. And then you start knowing who your quarterback is based off those.”

With Finley gone, the remaining options at the position are Ashford, redshirt freshman Holden Geriner and true freshman Hank Brown.

But with Freeze feeling a bit uncomfortable with what he saw out of the quarterbacks this spring, don’t be surprised if the Tigers take another quarterback out of the transfer portal in the next few weeks.

“Right now we’re having too many eyes in the wrong spot and decision-making is not exactly what it should be,” Freeze said.

That’s a problem that needs fixing for the Auburn quarterbacks.

Could Nebraska’s Thompson be the answer? Or perhaps Michigan State‘s Payton Thorne?

Thompson visited Auburn over the weekend and Thorne is expected to visit soon, as well. On3’s Jesse Simonton wrote about the need and underscored the importance of landing a transfer.

“Quarterbacks typically thrive in Hugh Freeze (and OC’s Philip Montgomery‘s) offense, and while that probably wasn’t going to be the case with Ashford or Finley, there’s a much stronger likelihood of that happening with Thorne or Thompson,” Simonton said. “Freeze simply has to make sure one of the two finds a home on the Plains. Auburn’s bowl hopes in 2023 depend on it.”