Where Auburn's quarterback search stands following recent transfer portal decisions

With bowl season behind us, college coaches are now focusing on their next steps. Shoring up the roster ahead of the spring semester is a big task for many of them, and Auburn will certainly be included in that number.

The NCAA transfer portal remains open, and there are already hundreds of viable options in the portal for teams to pick through. Could the Tigers be looking for a quarterback?

“Auburn’s in a very interesting position,” On3’s Pete Nakos said on the Andy Staples On3 show. “Auburn came up right away with Riley Leonard. Obviously Riley’s at Notre Dame now, but Auburn was in the mix there real quick. And obviously the way things went this weekend they’re kind of back on the market.”

Current starting quarterback Payton Thorne had a bit of a disastrous showing in the Transperfect Music City Bowl against Maryland. He finished just 13-of-27 passing for 84 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked three times.

Moreover, the Auburn offense never really got going. As Hugh Freeze gets deeper into his tenure, he’ll need a more effective quarterback.

And Auburn is already kicking the tires on one elite option.

“We heard about the Cam Ward, Auburn trying to get in,” Nakos said. “Just a quick explanation behind that, Hugh Freeze and Cam Ward have a relationship from his first time in the transfer portal. Cam looked at Liberty. Definitely really interesting to see what kind of move Auburn is going to make. They definitely want a quarterback.”

Staples broke down exactly how important it is for the Tigers to land a guy they can count on soon. They can’t afford another season of subpar play at the game’s most important position.

“We’ll see what they do, because I remember talking to Hugh Freeze at the Senior Bowl last year and he said that it’s very important to get his Auburn version of Bo Wallace,” Staples said. “And for those who don’t remember, Bo Wallace was a JUCO quarterback that he got when he got to Ole Miss, and Bo was kind of the stabilizing force on that team, on that roster, until they started bringing in like the serious talent, the Laremy Tunsil/Robert Nkemdiche class.

“And you saw Bo Wallace beat Alabama in 2014, but that’s the sort of thing he’s looking for. I think he hoped Payton Thorne was going to be that guy, but I’m thinking they’re wondering if that’s going to happen.”

There’s another reason a sense of urgency is developing about the quarterback position.

The Tigers are beginning to upgrade the roster at most other spots. You don’t want dead weight holding back the rest of the team.

“He has some great wide receiver talent coming in too, and I think that leads to Hugh feeling like they need to go get someone, especially if Payton isn’t the guy,” Nakos said. “And we saw the cracks in that against Maryland.”