Hugh Freeze reveals why he used Walker White late at QB, not Hank Brown

In the later stages of the win over ULM, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze made the decision to replace starting quarterback Payton Thorne with Walker White. That was instead of Hank Brown.

Previously this season, Freeze turned to Brown to replace Thorne. In particular, it was Brown who replaced Thorne when he had briefly been benched. So, that decision to play White caught some by surprise, and after the game Freeze acknowledged it was a difficult decision to make.

“Those are tough situations,” Hugh Freeze said. “I wanted to throw it around a little with him because he has a great arm. Arm strength is really off the charts good…We didn’t really throw it a whole lot with him. Would’ve liked to see more of that. I kind of know what we have with Hank and Holden and just wanted to see how he reacted in a real game situation. Other than the turnover, I thought he was okay.”

A redshirt freshman, Hank Brown has seen playing time this season, completing 62.8 percent of passes for 403 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions in four games this season. For his part, Walker White is a true freshman who hadn’t seen any action at all until the ULM game. In that effort, he completed two of five pass attempts for 18 yards. He also rushed for 18 yards.

While it now looks like Payton Thorne will finish the season out as the starter for Auburn, Hugh Freeze has had his eyes on the future of the program. Even with a bowl game still a possibility, Auburn has goals that go beyond that, and finding the long-term answer at quarterback is going to be key to that.

“Yeah, that was a tough discussion, not tough, you don’t know what’s right. It, truthfully, has no reflection on Hank at all. I know people won’t understand that and they can make what they want, I’m dead serious. It was really if we do that, do you go Hank at the beginning of the third or do you continue to build confidence with the receivers and Payton for a couple more possessions heading into the last few games, knowing that you might only get one of them in? And if it is one, which one? We all kind of agreed,” Freeze said.

“Ultimately, it was my call and I thought I wanted to see Walker in live reps before the season is over. Truthfully, it had nothing to do with Hank not preparing well or playing well, you just can’t get them all in, and really wanted to see Walker in some live reps.”

Auburn has two games left this season. Those are against Texas A&M and Alabama, both of which are currently ranked opponents.