2024 QB Portal Thread

[Gowebb11 9,362]

47 minutes ago, Tiger said:

What was McCall's deal this year? His stats are very uh... Forgettable? Was it an injury? 

Injury plus new coach and system. 

[Auburn93 557]

Jason Caldwell made a good point. Unless AU is absolutely sure that the QB they bring in will win games, then it is better to spend that money on a supporting cast that will make Thorne better. He was talking about receivers as well as linemen on both sides of the ball. 

[Hank2020 3,215]

1 minute ago, Auburn93 said:

Jason Caldwell made a good point. Unless AU is absolutely sure that the QB they bring in will win games, then it is better to spend that money on a supporting cast that will make Thorne better. He was talking about receivers as well as linemen on both sides of the ball. 

Freeze will be roasted if that approach doesn’t work out. I believe he definitely brings in another QB, just no promises.

[Auburn93 557]

1 hour ago, Hank2020 said:

Freeze will be roasted if that approach doesn’t work out. I believe he definitely brings in another QB, just no promises.

I think for depth purposes he has to. Will he spend a million and throw out Thorne? Will this guy ernoll in January?  Do we start over in August? Lots of things to consider. 

[Hank2020 3,215]

Just now, Auburn93 said:

I think for depth purposes he has to. Will he spend a million and throw out Thorne? Will this guy ernoll in January?  Do we start over in August? Lots of things to consider. 

I think he brings one in in January. Gotta see them on the field at same time.

[TeamZero77 1,785]

Freeze struggled to find a QB last year. He had to pick up Thorne late which screwed up everything because he only had fall camp here at AU. So if he struggled to land a QB last year, why does everybody think he will be able to pull a QB of his choosing this year?

Think about it, last year we had alot of hype behind us when the portal opened. The talk was that Freeze, Montgomery and Kent Austin were 3 offensive geniuses and all 3 were QB whisperers and we truly thought that QB's would be lining up to play for them due to their high scoring, pass happy offenses in their past. It didn't happen and then in the 9th inning Peyton Thorne just fell into our lap.

Fast forward to now; we are losing veteran O-Linemen, we are bringing in talented but young WR's and our offense absolutely sucked this year with these 3 offensive geniuses. So why would this year be so much easier to grab a really good portal QB compared to last year? I would argue last year would be the easiest because at that time nobody knew that our offense would be trash like it is. 

I know as Auburn fans we love to think we will be one of the top attractions for portal QB's but we haven't been. I argued back and forth last year that Freeze wasn't being "picky" when looking at QB's in the portal, he was just getting turned down. Our insiders wouldn't admit that though and kept beating that dead horse called Grayson McCall up until the last portal ended. All I'm saying is don't be shocked and hurt if we don't get a top QB in the portal or even a QB at all. Freeze hasn't said a single thing about Thorne NOT starting next season but our fans all think it's a done deal that he isn't QB1 and the fairytale portal QB will arrive to save the day.

[Gowebb11 9,362]

12 minutes ago, Hank2020 said:

Freeze will be roasted if that approach doesn’t work out. I believe he definitely brings in another QB, just no promises.

True, but what if he brings in a new QB, Thorne leaves, and the new guy doesn’t work out. Lots to consider for coaches these days. 

[Gowebb11 9,362]

16 minutes ago, TeamZero77 said:

Freeze struggled to find a QB last year. He had to pick up Thorne late which screwed up everything because he only had fall camp here at AU. So if he struggled to land a QB last year, why does everybody think he will be able to pull a QB of his choosing this year?

Think about it, last year we had alot of hype behind us when the portal opened. The talk was that Freeze, Montgomery and Kent Austin were 3 offensive geniuses and all 3 were QB whisperers and we truly thought that QB's would be lining up to play for them due to their high scoring, pass happy offenses in their past. It didn't happen and then in the 9th inning Peyton Thorne just fell into our lap.

Fast forward to now; we are losing veteran O-Linemen, we are bringing in talented but young WR's and our offense absolutely sucked this year with these 3 offensive geniuses. So why would this year be so much easier to grab a really good portal QB compared to last year? I would argue last year would be the easiest because at that time nobody knew that our offense would be trash like it is. 

I know as Auburn fans we love to think we will be one of the top attractions for portal QB's but we haven't been. I argued back and forth last year that Freeze wasn't being "picky" when looking at QB's in the portal, he was just getting turned down. Our insiders wouldn't admit that though and kept beating that dead horse called Grayson McCall up until the last portal ended. All I'm saying is don't be shocked and hurt if we don't get a top QB in the portal or even a QB at all. Freeze hasn't said a single thing about Thorne NOT starting next season but our fans all think it's a done deal that he isn't QB1 and the fairytale portal QB will arrive to save the day.

I think next year Thorne will be much closer to the QB he was at MSU in 2023. The context of this season was just bad. He misses spring, has a new coaching staff, a new system, an oline who hasn’t played together, and ineffective WRs. Then he played musical chairs with the other QB, while playing a very tough schedule. even the best QBs would flounder in that situation. 
 

I think Hugh and his staff being settled in plus PT being familiar with his teammates and the system will lead to A much better offensive performance. 
 

[TeamZero77 1,785]

Also, look how long it has taken our QB's to even slightly grasp this RPO offense. Heck, Robby and Holden haven't grasped any of it if you listen to what Hugh says about practices. Thorne still hasn't gotten it completely down pat either. So why does everybody think Hugh will just throw Thorne away and go grab another portal QB and go through all of this mess again and HOPE that the new QB grasps this system? I have a feeling that Hugh probably stays with the veteran Thorne and hopes that with spring ball and fall camp, as well as highly rated WR recruits, the offense will run at a much higher level next year. 

One other thing, if we are shopping for a portal QB, it doesn't mean we have our pick of the litter. There's alot of schools that can offer what we offer but they have veteran O-Lines and senior laden offensive weapons. Cam Newton just did a new podcast and said he chose Auburn over Mississippi State simply due to Auburn having 22 seniors and a better O-Line than State had. Russell Wilson chose Wisconsin over Auburn the year after we had Cam and it was due to us losing so many seniors and Wisconsin had a great O-Line and veterans.

The easiest path to the NFL, staying upright and not injured (great O-Line) still matters a ton, even more than NIL money to alot of these guys.

[TeamZero77 1,785]

5 minutes ago, Gowebb11 said:

I think next year Thorne will be much closer to the QB he was at MSU in 2023. The context of this season was just bad. He misses spring, has a new coaching staff, a new system, an oline who hasn’t played together, and ineffective WRs. Then he played musical chairs with the other QB, while playing a very tough schedule. even the best QBs would flounder in that situation. 
 

I think Hugh and his staff being settled in plus PT being familiar with his teammates and the system will lead to A much better offensive performance. 
 

I agree 100%. One other thing people don't really give Thorne credit for is his legs. With a good Bowl game performance, he could get to 600 yards rushing this season. He is over 500 now. So if Hugh replaces Thorne in the portal, that's something he will need to think about. Does this new QB have some wheels if things break down?

In monday's presser, Hugh talked a bit about the portal and said he has no idea what he will need because he doesn't know exactly what players on his team will enter the portal. He said he never had to deal with the portal at Liberty because his players all stayed. So last year was really his first real venture into portal recruiting and he said he isn't a fan and that this first portal window is WAAAY too long. He said the NCAA should make it 1 week. He had to use it last year but just listening to him speak about it, he gives off vibes that he won't use the portal unless it's just an absolute must. 

[Dan-0 479]

Thorne won me over the second half of the season, about the time Freeze stopped rotating him with Ashford. I just can't see brining in a transfer to replace him.

He is a dual-threat QB who played well enough to put AU in position to beat UGA & Bama.

Imagine what he could do with receivers like Seth Williams, Darius Slayton, or Sammie Coates.

Thorne may not be an elite-level QB but we haven't had elite-level receivers since Seth Williams, have we?

Not to mention, an elite-level O-line....

[TeamZero77 1,785]

I just read an article where Matt Rhule was asked if he was bringing in a top portal QB and he said that right now, a good portal QB will cost you between $1 million to $2 million dollars. He said there are teams out here with players making $7 million per season. I've read that Caleb Williams made $10 million this year and it told all of the NFL QB's that are making less than Caleb is. 

I think it's no surprise that Steve Sarkisian has been a head coach at Washington, USC and Texas and had never won more than 9 games in a season. He now sits at 11-1. Texas having endless money has to play a part in Sarkisian having this breakout season and Texas having just their 2nd double digit win season since 2009. 

All the coaches and especially the AD's, support players making money but they just want guardrails put up so this doesn't continue being the wild west. They keep waiting for the NCAA to step in but I'm beginning to think that the NCAA is saying "Everybody wanted players to get paid. Well, they're getting paid. Be careful what you wish for." 

[DAG 34,005]

Just now, TeamZero77 said:

I just read an article where Matt Rhule was asked if he was bringing in a top portal QB and he said that right now, a good portal QB will cost you between $1 million to $2 million dollars. He said there are teams out here with players making $7 million per season. I've read that Caleb Williams made $10 million this year and it told all of the NFL QB's that are making less than Caleb is. 

I think it's no surprise that Steve Sarkisian has been a head coach at Washington, USC and Texas and had never won more than 9 games in a season. He now sits at 11-1. Texas having endless money has to play a part in Sarkisian having this breakout season and Texas having just their 2nd double digit win season since 2009. 

All the coaches and especially the AD's, support players making money but they just want guardrails put up so this doesn't continue being the wild west. They keep waiting for the NCAA to step in but I'm beginning to think that the NCAA is saying "Everybody wanted players to get paid. Well, they're getting paid. Be careful what you wish for." 

They want the players to get paid with guard rails , yet the can fail at their job with huge buyouts. Makes a lot of sense. 

[au701948 1,005]

14 minutes ago, Dan-0 said:

Thorne won me over the second half of the season, about the time Freeze stopped rotating him with Ashford. I just can't see brining in a transfer to replace him.

He is a dual-threat QB who played well enough to put AU in position to beat UGA & Bama.

Imagine what he could do with receivers like Seth Williams, Darius Slayton, or Sammie Coates.

Thorne may not be an elite-level QB but we haven't had elite-level receivers since Seth Williams, have we?

Not to mention, an elite-level O-line....

I agree with your sentiments.

After CHF quit inserting Ashford in to games, for no real purpose except to seemingly appease him, Thorne became a more positive and comfortable QB. He is not a world beater, but given a full season in the system and better receivers next Fall, he could finally be a bridge to the future for this program.

I believe that in the earlier part of the season CHF was in fear of not having a backup behind Thorne. He kept inserting Ashford to keep that line of thought alive. After he saw the difference in Thorne after genuinely giving him QB1, he knew he could not turn back. He almost did it a few plays against Bama, but it will never work with Ashford. He will always be a run first athlete, not QB1. Not only that, if we as fans know that, how sad was it to see the coaches try and full other teams as well.

[DAG 34,005]

It’s scary to me how subjective fans are when it comes to talent.

Edited November 30, 2023 by DAG

[Gowebb11 9,362]

4 minutes ago, TeamZero77 said:

I just read an article where Matt Rhule was asked if he was bringing in a top portal QB and he said that right now, a good portal QB will cost you between $1 million to $2 million dollars. He said there are teams out here with players making $7 million per season. I've read that Caleb Williams made $10 million this year and it told all of the NFL QB's that are making less than Caleb is. 

I think it's no surprise that Steve Sarkisian has been a head coach at Washington, USC and Texas and had never won more than 9 games in a season. He now sits at 11-1. Texas having endless money has to play a part in Sarkisian having this breakout season and Texas having just their 2nd double digit win season since 2009. 

All the coaches and especially the AD's, support players making money but they just want guardrails put up so this doesn't continue being the wild west. They keep waiting for the NCAA to step in but I'm beginning to think that the NCAA is saying "Everybody wanted players to get paid. Well, they're getting paid. Be careful what you wish for." 

FWIW, I’m very skeptical about some of the numbers being thrown around. $7 and $10 mil seems exaggerated but I could be wrong. 

[DAG 34,005]

Calling it. Believe we will end up with McCall. 

[Win4AU 4,054]

I’m also of the opinion that Thorne could be good enough with an upgraded WR corp and Oline to make the offense explosive.  Auburn has soo many needs across the board I think it’s definitely smarter to spread that money around at this point.  After next season when Auburn has 2 top 10 recruiting classes under its belt they can start cherry picking.  

[PigskinPat 2,579]

1 hour ago, DAG said:

Calling it. Believe we will end up with McCall. 

I agree. I think that’s who Freeze wanted and I think he wanted to come here, but the whole deal with us not offering his major threw a wrench in the whole thing.

[passthebiscuits 6,866]

6 hours ago, au701948 said:

How close do you think CHF is or was with McCall from Coastal Carolina?

We were close at the time. I think our standards are a little different this year. But we had a heckuva time with his degree. Now he’s a grad student transfer about wouldn’t be an issue. I don’t think that’s where we are headed tho. 

[passthebiscuits 6,866]

1 hour ago, Gowebb11 said:

FWIW, I’m very skeptical about some of the numbers being thrown around. $7 and $10 mil seems exaggerated but I could be wrong. 

Agree. I work closely with some of this and the numbers are usually in the 500-2M range for these top tier qbs. 

[ScotsAU 1,343]

We need to bring in a QB. Right now, Ashford is probably going to either change positions or transfer. I can’t see Hugh keeping him on the roster at QB. I’d also put money on Geriner leaving. Brown and White have better potential in this offense, and Geriner just isn’t mobile enough to be the right fit. It would be to his benefit to go to someone who either plays an air raid or a pro scheme. If both of those 2 leave, our QBs will be Thorne, a redshirt freshman, and a freshman. Need to bring in another upper class man to push Thorne and (even if Thorne wins) be a ready back up.

[CCTAU 3,339]

15 minutes ago, ScotsAU said:

We need to bring in a QB. Right now, Ashford is probably going to either change positions or transfer. I can’t see Hugh keeping him on the roster at QB. I’d also put money on Geriner leaving. Brown and White have better potential in this offense, and Geriner just isn’t mobile enough to be the right fit. It would be to his benefit to go to someone who either plays an air raid or a pro scheme. If both of those 2 leave, our QBs will be Thorne, a redshirt freshman, and a freshman. Need to bring in another upper class man to push Thorne and (even if Thorne wins) be a ready back up.

Does Spencer Sanders have another year? He was good at that…

[AUApostle 7,651]

Vandagriff’s name is feeling left out of this conversation.

[ellitor 33,113]

5 hours ago, woodford said:

Cam Ward

Grayson McCall

Will Howard

Maalik Murphy

 

IMO one of those guys will end up at Auburn 

 

Barring something changing it won't be McCall. Also don't want Murphy with how he looked as a starter this season.