Payton Thorne goes in-depth on Hugh Freeze's vote of confidence, room for improvement, talented receivers incoming and more

AUBURN -- Hugh Freeze gave quarterback Payton Thorne quite the vote of confidence recently by praising Thorne's potential for next season. Because of that potential, and the outlook of the quarterback room entirely, it's unlikely Freeze and Auburn will sign a transfer portal quarterback. And while the news might have been new to everyone else, it wasn't news to Thorne, who had been involved in ongoing conversations with Freeze in recent weeks about the future. "We had a good talk in his office and we're on the same page. Things are going well right now," Thorne said. "I enjoy playing with Coach Freeze and I'm excited for what the future will hold. I'm excited about coming back for another year and that's what I told him. When I got here, my goal was to give myself the option at the end of the year to leave or stay. "To be honest, during the year when we weren't performing to the level we had hoped, I was leaning towards coming back. I didn't want this to be my last year. There were things this year that weren't normal, I guess you could say. We'll get those things ironed out moving forward and have a successful year next year." Much more from Thorne inside on a variety of topics...