Payton Thorne goes in-depth on choosing Auburn, high expectations, building team chemistry and more

AUBURN — Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne joined the Auburn collective’s On To Victory podcast on Monday morning to chat about his journey to the Plains, expectations and much more. The show is hosted by former Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell and this specific podcast was co-hosted by Auburn Live’s Justin Hokanson.

Thorne committed to Auburn football on May 5 after entering the transfer portal on April 30. He’s been on campus for “around three weeks,” he said, getting acclimated to the area and meeting his teammates.

“It’s been great,” Thorne said. “A number of things happened over the last month that brought me to Auburn. Some things, or a lot of things that are out there about why I came here are not accurate. The main reason I came here was Coach (Hugh) Freeze and Coach (Philip) Montgomery, and seeing what they’ve done with quarterbacks and seeing the offense they run. That really attracted me to this place.

“And everything I’ve heard about the university, the football program and the fan base, it’s awesome. On my visit, I checked out the new facility and met more people, it was great. I left this place knowing this was the place for me and it was best for me and my future.”

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After four seasons at Michigan State, a place where Payton Thorne thought his career would begin and end, the transition to Auburn seems to be one Thorne is taking in stride.

“If you would have asked me five days before I entered the portal if I was transferring, I would have asked you what you were talking about,” Thorne said. “I never really, it was a series of events that brought me to enter the portal and it all happened really quick. I came to Michigan State, coach (Mark) Dantonio recruited me and I wasn’t a super highly recruited guy — I didn’t have a ton of hype around me coming in. The comparison Coach Dantonio and his staff made was Kirk Cousins.

“For me, that was a high honor to be compared to him. I came in with the goal of doing what he did. I looked at his records the first day I got there and wanted to break those. That was a big thing for me. That was one of the hard things to leave Michigan State, but ultimately, the pros and cons, it wasn’t close. That’s what brought me to Auburn. I enjoyed my time at Michigan State. There’s a lot of great teammates and a lot of great relationships, but I’m looking forward to this new chapter here. I’m extremely excited to be here. I’m not looking back. I made this decision and it’s all Auburn now. I love it.”

Thorne’s former head coach, Dantonio, cut his teeth on the defensive side of the football before becoming a head coach. Freeze, as we know, created his path to head coaching on the offensive side. Thorne knows things will be different.

“It’s definitely going to be different. It’ll be fun playing for an offensive head coach,” Thorne said. “Having multiple coaches that I can work with. Coach Freeze has had a lot of success offensively, Coach Montgomery’s success speaks for itself. Coach Kent Austin is involved with the quarterbacks, and Coach (Jesse) Stone, too. That’s four guys I can learn from and can always pop in and watch film with, or go over offensive schemes, stuff like that.

“That was a big reason why I decided this was the move for me. I don’t have a complete feel yet what it’s like playing for an offensive coach yet because we haven’t put in any practice situations for me, but talking with Coach Freeze — I know it’s going to be different and going to be fun playing for an offensive head coach.”

Having said all that, expectations will be very high for Thorne given two things: Auburn’s struggles the past two years to win football games, and specifically Auburn’s struggles in 2022 to produce consistent and winning quarterback play. Fans, mostly, will view Thorne as the “fix,” fairly or unfairly.

And while Thorne stays off social media for the most part, only taking part in Instagram to build his “brand” and help create NIL opportunities, Thorne seems well aware of what he’s stepping into at Auburn.

“The first thing that comes to mind is pressure is a privilege,” Thorne said. “That’s a good thing. I point toward God. The things that happened to get me to this point, I don’t believe in coincidences. I feel like there’s a reason that I’m here. There’s a reason that somehow the events that happened brought me to this point. In terms of the pressure, I don’t see much of it, I don’t see what the fans are saying. I bump into some people here and they’ve said certain things, but I’ve played in the Big Ten. People always say ‘It just means more,’ and I definitely have felt that out here so far, and I love it. I’ve always wanted to live in the south and getting to live down here is awesome.

“I’m minimal with my social media, so I don’t hear a ton of it, but I have high expectations for myself, too. I hold myself to a high standard and I’m coming in here to work hard and do what I can to put myself in a good situation to help this team win games. I have a process that’s set forward that will give me the chance to do that. I’ve surrounded myself in my life with a lot of great people and coming here, I’m surrounded with great people. I’m praying and working. It all comes down to what you put forward, that’s what you’re going to get out of it.”

Meeting new teammates, critical summer ahead

Payton Thorne will be working behind a rebuilt offensive line and throwing to a rebuilt receiving corps starting this summer. Transfers Gunner Britton, Dillon Wade and Avery Jones are all expected starters on the offensive line, with transfer Jaden Muskrat maybe pushing for a starting role as well. At receiver, transfers Jyaire Shorter, Shane Hooks, Nick Mardner and Caleb Burton are coming in hoping to help bolster the Tigers’ ability to score points.

And all those newcomers are in addition to returning players fighting for snaps and their place on this team. To Thorne, they’re all brand-new teammates, and a group that has to come together quickly.

“It’s been great meeting those guys and getting to know them,” Thorne said. “I got to meet Gunner right away, we went out to eat a couple of times. That’s been great meeting some of the guys that have been here. Talking with D-Wade, meeting Avery, it’s been great. The receivers, it’s been good, too. They’ve been filtering in. We’re getting started rolling with that. Meeting the receivers that have been here — meeting those guys and throwing, getting the timing down, really just working out with them and seeing how they work, it’s been great so far. We’ve been in the film room a little bit, so we’ll get more of that going as time goes on and attacking this summer with those guys.”

Thorne knows good and well how important June and July will be to build chemistry with his new offensive teammates before fall camp starts at the beginning of August.

“It’s extremely important. Every single day, we have to be taking advantage. Whether that’s throwing, which is most days, but it’s watching film. It’s extremely important to take the film examples and apply it to the field,” Thorne said.

“Honestly, the summer is huge because you can work without structure, which is great actually. You can go run routes and say, ‘OK, if this coverage is being played this way or the corner is playing with this leverage, this is how we have to run this route,’ You work on those things and that’s not something you get to do during practice. Practice is so high tempo — you don’t get as detailed as work. When you’re there by yourself, you could be out there for three hours if you really want to. That’s rare that you are out there for that long, but sometimes you’re just sitting out there and talking through stuff. It’s not always completely structured, which is great.”

Meshing with an established QB room

After four years of college football, Payton Thorne immediately enters the Auburn quarterback room as the veteran, joining three-year player Robby Ashford and true sophomore Holden Geriner. True freshman Hank Brown will join the room this summer, too. While Thorne arrives at Auburn with the purpose of starting, Ashford and Geriner certainly have similar ideas.

“We’re all working for the same thing. We’re all working to play and to win,” Thorne said. “Coming in, not being that guy who is tryin to do too much. I was a quarterback who had a transfer come in two years ago, so I’ve been on the other side of it where I can see what it’s like. I’ve drawn from that experience. I’ve learned some do’s and don’ts, so I’m doing my best to apply that to the situation I’m in right now.”

What’s Payton Thorne’s mindset with two years of eligibility left?

Because of Covid, using his redshirt season and already graduating, Payton Thorne is a unique case in college football. He’s played four years in college and graduated from Michigan State this spring, yet still has two years of eligibility remaining. While Freeze would love to start his coaching tenure off at Auburn with a two-year starting quarterback, Thorne is taking things one day at a time for now.

“I’m not thinking about the postseason or anything like that. My focus is getting this offense down, mastering the offense, knowing every single little detail of it like I did with my past offense so I can be as effective as I can, and getting to know my teammates. That’s going to take care of itself when it gets here. I’m not making any decisions anytime soon on anything like that,” Thorne said

“The last two years, if I had a good year, I could have left type thing, so I’ve been draft eligible the last two years. It’s the same mindset I’ve had. I’m not too concerned with that. That’ll take care of itself. The work I put forth now is going to put me in position to have that decision. That’s my goal is to have a decision to make, and then ultimately that would mean we won a lot of games and that I did my job for our team and played well. That’s my focus right now. I’m focused on getting as good as I can be with the gifts God gave me, and helping my teammates be the best that they can be. All that stuff will sort itself out when the time comes.”