On3 Roundtable: Evaluating Payton Thorne’s fit at Auburn

Things are tracking toward former Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne heading to Auburn as a transfer. If the former Spartan heads south, AuburnLive’s Justin Hokanson thinks his fit with the Tigers makes a lot of sense.

Thorne has proven his mettle against Power 5 competition, for one. And, as Hokanson noted in an On3 Roundtable with J.D. PicKell, he’s not destined to be a one-and-done at Auburn.

“I think the other aspect of him that’s intriguing and I wrote about at AuburnLive, in my opinion, was the fact that he has multiple years of eligibility. Now, he could be draft eligible next year, he could be one-and-done, but I think based on what he’s done so far, unless he showed up at Auburn and balled out, I think he’d be there for two years,” Hokanson said.

Thorne enrolled at Michigan State ahead of the 2019 but took a redshirt, then didn’t use a year of eligibility in 2020 due to Covid-19. He was the Spartans starter in 2021 and 2022, and thus has two years of college play remaining.

As Hokanson noted, if Thorne takes off at Auburn, he could be headed for the 2024 NFL Draft. But that seems unlikely, given that Thorne was good and productive at Michigan State, but not necessarily eye-popping.

Thorne was Michigan State’s starter for two seasons and flashed tremendous promise, especially as a sophomore in 2021. Michigan State won 11 games and Thorne passed for more than 3000 yards while chucking 27 touchdowns to 10 picks. He regressed in 2022 as the Spartans did so as a whole. But with a return to his 2021 form, Thorne could be the triggerman on a potent passing attack.

“Seems like an efficient player, an efficient quarterback that’s got some good potential to distribute the football and make good decisions. And honestly, that’s what Auburn needs right now. He’s got some mobility. He’s not some super athlete, but if you watched him at Michigan State, he showed some signs of being able to escape pressure and take off and run. And so he’s at least enough of a threat that, in that RPO game, if you don’t respect him, he can pull and run around the other side. He’s not Robby Ashford out there, but he’s mobile enough that you have to respect that, I think. He can pull it a couple times and make some good runs. And then you’ll have to worry about it,” Hokanson said.

Ultimately, with the point in the calendar and considering the options Auburn has at quarterback, Thorne is a pretty decent upgrade to the room.

“So, I think he’s a good fit. Based on where things are, based on who’s available, I think he’s a really good fit. I think he’d be a really good get for Auburn if they can get him,” Hokanson said.