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Auburn Tigers wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith (5) and quarterback Payton Thorne (1) celebrate their touchdown connection as Auburn Tigers take on California Golden Bears at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024.
For the third time in as many weeks, the Auburn Tigers are making a change at the quarterback position. After redshirt freshman Hank Brown got the nod for Auburn’s last two contests, senior signal-caller Payton Thorne will re-claim his starting role this weekend against Oklahoma.
Thorne started the first two games of the season for the Tigers, but was benched after a brutal 4 interception performance in Auburn’s week two loss at home against California. Hank Brown took over the job in week three, and while he looked impressive in a win against New Mexico, his 3 interception first half in week four forced Thorne back into action.
A senior in his final year of eligibility, Thorne has thrown for 700 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions so far in 2024. Unfortunately most of his production, and all more than half of his touchdowns, came against FCS program Alabama A&M in the opener.
While the senior doesn’t provide as much upside as Hank Brown or another young prospect in the quarterback room, it’s clear Hugh Freeze wants an experienced starter in his backfield in an attempt to improve his offenses FBS-worst negative 10 turnover differential.
We’ll see if Thorne and the Auburn offense can play a clean game when they kickoff against the No. 18 ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday from Jordan-Hare Stadium.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Payton Thorne named starting…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/payton-thorne-named-starting-quarterback-204049720.html
Author : Auburn Wire
Publish date : 2024-09-27 20:40:49
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