Payton Thorne shares how respect for Hugh Freeze led him to Auburn

Last week, Hugh Freeze made it official when he named Payton Thorne as Auburn’s starting quarterback. Thorne was one of the big pickups from the transfer portal, starting his career at Michigan State before eventually making his way to The Plains.

As it turns out, he and Freeze were a perfect match.

Thorne shared what drew him to Auburn and Freeze played a big part in the decision. He’s preparing for his first season at Auburn after spending the last four years at Liberty, and Thorne will now be tasked with running his new-look offense with Philip Montgomery as coordinator.

“I think just Coach Freeze and the way that he runs his program,” Thorne said. “Listening to the things that he values, it lines up with my values as a person and definitely as a football program. I was really excited to come and join this family. They’ve welcomed me with open arms and it’s been great. I’m excited to be here.”

Thorne put together a solid career at Michigan State, including a 3,000-yard passing season in 2021. Last year, he totaled 2,679 yards and 19 touchdowns before deciding to hit the portal and head to Auburn.

Now, he’ll be a starting quarterback in the SEC, and he sounds ready for the task.

“I’m very excited to get going,” Thorne said. “It’s been a good summer, a good fall so far. Excited to get out there with the guys and truly get out there for our first test and see what we’ve got. Week 1, you get to get a real feel for it. Me as a quarterback, I get to actually get tackled, which will be nice to be live. It’ll be exciting and I’m excited to see what happens with the work we put in.”

Hugh Freeze: ‘My gut said it’s time’ to name Payton Thorne as Auburn’s starting quarterback

Thorne beat out Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner for the starting job, and Freeze explained why he chose the Michigan State transfer during a press conference last week. He made it clear he still trusts all three quarterbacks but he felt he needed to make a decision.

“I believe in all three of those guys. There are days where there has been very little separation,” Freeze said. “I just believe, man, my gut is usually right and usually when I follow my gut? And I’m not saying my gut is right that Payton is the guy for all 12 games. But my gut is saying it’s the time to do this, to get us best prepared for the opening of the season.”