Hugh Freeze provides in-depth evaluation of all three Auburn quarterbacks after Week 1

Auburn managed to roll out three quarterbacks in a season opening beatdown of UMass on Saturday, with Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner coming in to spell starter Payton Thorne. So far, first-year Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze is pleased with the trio.

Thorne, who was the starter on Saturday, beat out Ashford through fall camp to earn the nod. But both are likely to feature heavily going forward, Freeze said on Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconfernce.

“Payton continues to show that he has a great understanding of things. He has great leadership qualities. Can move well enough with his legs and obviously think he’s a bit more accurate in his decisions and his passing than the others and then Robby is, like I said, is one of the most talented athletes that I’ve ever coached. And he has to be a part of the plan week in, week out, because he’s just different,” Freeze said.

In a 59-14 win over UMass, the trio each showed why they’re part of a competitive quarterback room.

Thorne went 10-for-17 passing for 141 yards and a touchdown while also carrying three times for 15 yards.

Ashford showed off his running ability, carrying nine times for 51 yards and three touchdowns, while going 2-for-6 for 3 yards via the air.

And while Geriner had a very small sample size, Freeze was impressed by his 2-for-2 passing outing totaling 59 yards.

“Yeah, I like all three of them,” Freeze said. “They all have different strengths and I thought Holden came in and even though we didn’t throw it much, because of the score, he was very, very accurate when he did throw it. And I’ve said all along he might be the most natural passer we have.”

For now, it seems Thorne and Ashford will fine tune the time share as Freeze looks forward to incorporate the running element from the quarterback positions. And all the while, Geriner will keep pushing those two as the Auburn quarterback room settles in for the season.

“And they all seem to be handling it well right now and obviously they haven’t faced much adversity, yet, but hopefully they’ll continue to do that,” Freeze said.

Freeze plans to coach his quarterbacks hard all season

Freeze is not always easy on Thorne and Ashford. But the first-year Auburn head coach is still figuring out the best way to connect and get through to his new players.

Luckily, Saturday’s season-opening thrashing of UMass provided a chance for everyone to get their feet wet.

“Robby didn’t have to make many decisions,” Freeze said. “But boy he’s really talented and vital to our success. He will have to make some in the future. Payton, he had three decisions that were wrong and I expect more. I expect him not to make the ones he made and he knows that but he played solid. You just would like that decision making to be around 100%, particularly in the run-pass world. Where he’s deciding whether it’s a run or pass, those need to be those need to be near 100%.”