CHF Talks About QB Decisions

[toddc 13,194]

Hugh Freeze explains decision not to add transfer quarterback

Chandler Vessels

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze didn’t feel the need to add a quarterback through the transfer portal this offseason. While other programs around the country were loading up on new signal callers, the Tigers were content with the players they already had. 

Payton Thorne is set to return as the starter for the 2024 season, while freshmen Hank Brown and Walker White provide a foundation for the future behind him. Speaking with the media at the Senior Bowl on Wednesday, Freeze explained that he prefers to develop his QBs from high school rather than chase the top portal prospects. 

“I didn’t (go after a transfer quarterback),” the coach said. “I know the Twitter world had me taking everybody. That’s the hot thing to do now. If a quarterback went in the portal, I started immediately getting messages. ‘This is the one.’ 

“I just really like our room. I wanted to try to build with high school kids like Hank and Walker. Us try to develop those guys along with, obviously, the experience Payton brings. I kind of want to see that through.”

Thorne led the Tigers to a 6-7 finish and appearance in the Music Bowl this past season. He had his ups and downs, finishing with 1,755 yards, 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a 61.1% completion percentage. Thorne also made an impact as a runner with 515 yards rushing and three scores on the ground. 

Thorne struggled against some of the tougher defenses in the SEC, but showed his potential at times. He also has an impressive two-year stint as a starter at Michigan State prior to transferring to Auburn, totaling 6,501 yards, 49 touchdowns and 24 interceptions with the Spartans. 

There is belief that with another year in the system, Thorne can regain the form that he showed in East Lansing. The Tigers did add on Cam Jackson, who played quarterback for Cal last season, but he is set to play receiver and add another weapon for Thorne along with Georgia State transfer Robert Lewis. 

Then there’s the freshman whom Freeze hopes will one day lead the program themselves. White signed this offseason as a four-star recruit out of Little Rock Christian Academy (AR). He ranked as the No. 86 overall player and No. 7 quarterback in the 2024 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking,  a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Brown is a former three-star recruit who saw his first action in the bowl game, going 7-of-9 passing for 132 yards. Both players clearly have potential to one day take the reigns as Auburn’s starter, and with Thorne still around for one more year, Freeze believes his quarterback room is just fine.

[toddc 13,194]

I guess all the rumors were, just rumors.

Also, see who’s not mentioned!

[cole256 17,084]

QB room is just fine is crazy to me. But I'm not going to start up, if that what he's wanting to gamble with he's much braver than me but it's his decision. I'm going to support him.

 

But if PT sucks I'm not listening to it's the o line, HB, wr, te pretty much everybody fault but his. This year is no excuses. And he doesn't have to win the Heisman but these games where you can't even muster a 100 yards is unacceptable. I can't believe some people tried to make that ok. But ok yeah. Let's go, can't wait to see what we got

[CCTAU 3,327]

31 minutes ago, toddc said:

I guess all the rumors were, just rumors.

Also, see who’s not mentioned!

That one is odd. I wonder if a decision has been made and it’s being kept quiet?

[WillMunny 1,378]

In other words, Will Rogers turned us down again.

[DAG 33,993]

Good so we know who is to blame if QB is the weak link next year . 

[toddc 13,194]

57 minutes ago, cole256 said:

I can't believe some people tried to make that ok. But ok yeah. Let's go, can't wait to see what we got

Anyone who was okay with this at all is a complete homer or insane! 😝 

[WillMunny 1,378]

No way Freeze didn't try to upgrade.

[cbo 7,854]

57 minutes ago, WillMunny said:

No way Freeze didn't try to upgrade.

Exactly, of course he did. 

Thorne had less than 100 yards passing in 5 games, including his last 2 after he supposedly improved. In two other games, he had 102 yards and 100 yards. That's almost impossible to do. 

Freeze tried to upgrade and it didn't work out for whatever reason. Of course he's going to say now that he's happy with the QB room. I don't blame him for that. What else could he say?

 

[toddc 13,194]

I remember him actually saying that he was going into next season with what he had at least once. 

[TeamZero77 1,784]

20 minutes ago, toddc said:

I remember him actually saying that he was going into next season with what he had at least once. 

You're exactly right. At his presser on Early Signing Day he said straight up that he wasn't getting a portal QB. Then yesterday at Senior Bowl practice he said it again. Besides him doing a presser for the Maryland bowl game, these 2 times on ESD and yesterday are the only 2 times I have seen him take questions since the season ended and both times he said he is comfortable with our current QB room for 2024 and is going with them as our QB room for 2024.

In my opinion, it's the media and Auburn podcasters that won't let it die. I know that Thorne isn't that good (my opinion) and I think Hugh should've gotten a portal QB this past portal window but he can't make it anymore plain than what he has made it. But the Locked on Auburn podcast and other AU podcasters just keep on saying that Hugh is going after the Liberty QB, the James Madison QB, Will Rogers, Julian Sayin and others. I guess they need content everyday but it gives fans false hope after Hugh has flatout said he isn't getting a QB from the portal. 

I want another QB and I don't like our chances next year if Thorne is QB1 but I also believe Hugh when he keeps telling us he isn't getting one. If Hugh keeps telling me no but I keep thinking he will get a QB despite what he says, then I have no right to get pissed off when September gets here and it's the same QB room that Hugh has repeatedly said it's going to be. 

[cbo 7,854]

2 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

You're exactly right. At his presser on Early Signing Day he said straight up that he wasn't getting a portal QB. Then yesterday at Senior Bowl practice he said it again. Besides him doing a presser for the Maryland bowl game, these 2 times on ESD and yesterday are the only 2 times I have seen him take questions since the season ended and both times he said he is comfortable with our current QB room for 2024 and is going with them as our QB room for 2024.

In my opinion, it's the media and Auburn podcasters that won't let it die. I know that Thorne isn't that good (my opinion) and I think Hugh should've gotten a portal QB this past portal window but he can't make it anymore plain than what he has made it. But the Locked on Auburn podcast and other AU podcasters just keep on saying that Hugh is going after the Liberty QB, the James Madison QB, Will Rogers, Julian Sayin and others. I guess they need content everyday but it gives fans false hope after Hugh has flatout said he isn't getting a QB from the portal. 

I want another QB and I don't like our chances next year if Thorne is QB1 but I also believe Hugh when he keeps telling us he isn't getting one. If Hugh keeps telling me no but I keep thinking he will get a QB despite what he says, then I have no right to get pissed off when September gets here and it's the same QB room that Hugh has repeatedly said it's going to be. 

Freeze has gone back and forth on the QB situation. In mid-December, he basically declared Thorne the starter for next season. After the bowl game, he said "it's wide open."

Freeze had at least one transfer QB on campus in the last month or so. I think he wanted to upgrade the position but was also overly picky about it. 

[ScotsAU 1,335]

Folks. This is madness. 
 

1. Freeze could actually still be recruiting a QB, and just isn’t going to say anything until the move is made. That is 100 percent within the realm of possibilities. You don’t want to risk running Thorne off by announcing before a final decision is made. Otherwise you risk having neither guy.

2. Don’t start with the “we got turned down by everyone” crap. We just signed the best WR class in the country, and have a massive NIL fund. If we want a top QB, we could get one.  It is a question of if anyone is worth the NIL funds it would take to bring them in. 
 

3. Maybe Freeze knows something   that we don’t. Maybe, of the portal QBs available, Freeze didn’t see any that he thought were better than Thorne. (Remember, Thorne was breaking records at MSU his first year. As of now, it hasn’t translated to SEC level.) Maybe all the QBs that were potentially worth getting weren’t worth the NIL $$ we would’ve had to sacrifice. Maybe Hugh thinks a massive part of Thorne’s issues will go away with better play calling and better  receivers. Thorne did appear to look better down the stretch until the bowl game. Maybe he was playing hurt in the bowl. We have no way of knowing what Freeze may know that we don’t.
 

4. Some things to remember also before we write off Thorne anyway. How many times have Auburn QB’s had a bad season then had a light suddenly come on? Urban Meyer wanted to move Cam Newton to tight end because he was struggling to find consistency throwing the ball at Florida. Two years later… Heisman. Everyone wanted Jason Campbell benched in 2003. One year later… Undefeated season and first round draft pick. Chris Todd was awful in 2008. A year later… he broke several Auburn passing records including the longest pass in history of the program.  Bo Nix gets benched for TJ Finley. Two years later? Heisman candidate. So it is even possible that the light just comes on with a different coordinator and/or position coach. 
 

So maybe let’s pump the breaks a little bit on the “sky is falling” drama.

Edited February 2 by ScotsAU

[Mims44 1,872]

8 hours ago, cole256 said:

QB room is just fine is crazy to me. But I'm not going to start up, if that what he's wanting to gamble with he's much braver than me but it's his decision. I'm going to support him.

 

But if PT sucks I'm not listening to it's the o line, HB, wr, te pretty much everybody fault but his. This year is no excuses. And he doesn't have to win the Heisman but these games where you can't even muster a 100 yards is unacceptable. I can't believe some people tried to make that ok. But ok yeah. Let's go, can't wait to see what we got

I'd be more cool with it if I thought the O line was gonna be a lot stronger next year. Any QB plays better when he has a secure pocket constantly, but we didn't really improve much with transfers on the Oline.

But I dunno man.

[WarTim 3,456]

It’s Hugh’s show. He will live by HIS decision. I choose to support my HC. 

[aubiefifty 16,803]

31 minutes ago, WarTim said:

It’s Hugh’s show. He will live by HIS decision. I choose to support my HC. 

that is two of us big shooter.

[aubiefifty 16,803]

i think coach had second thoughts after thorne tanked in the bowl game. i have no proof just a hunch. and i wish thorne well. if he is picked i hope he balls out.

[AUGoo 2,664]

10 hours ago, Mims44 said:

I'd be more cool with it if I thought the O line was gonna be a lot stronger next year. Any QB plays better when he has a secure pocket constantly, but we didn't really improve much with transfers on the Oline.

But I dunno man.

Throw in WR's that can catch, too.

No real proven wunderkinds around.

[Mims44 1,872]

17 minutes ago, AUGoo said:

Throw in WR's that can catch, too.

No real proven wunderkinds around.

Yeah....

I think we got a number of WRs outta HS that'll end up being good. Got high hopes for WW at QB too. And our Dline recruiting was awesome.

But I don't expect any of them to be game changers as freshman... so this upcoming season is gonna be 🤷‍♂️

[DAG 33,993]

12 hours ago, ScotsAU said:

So maybe let’s pump the breaks a little bit on the “sky is falling” drama.

You have the most 180 degree post I have ever seen of anyone on here lol. 

[TitanTiger 20,498]

My guess is, he was willing to bring in a portal QB, but the ones available either were asking way too much in NIL given our other needs (like the entire WR room for instance) or they weren't enough of an upgrade to bother.  And we may have a healthy NIL fund but it's not limitless.  So I kinda read it more as (italics unspoken) "under the circumstances of this year's portal and our roster needs, I'm good with the QB room."

[KillenTime 127]

12 hours ago, Mims44 said:

I'd be more cool with it if I thought the O line was gonna be a lot stronger next year. Any QB plays better when he has a secure pocket constantly, but we didn't really improve much with transfers on the Oline.

But I dunno man.

And we have a winner.  If we don't protect the QB better it doesn't matter who is scrambling, dodging and throwing passes away to avoid sacks.  Lew at center will be huge.  That has been the weakest link for years and years.  

[bishoptf 684]

My guess and it's only a guess but he either still has something in work or was unable to get someone he felt was an upgrade. I was willing to give PT the benefit of the doubt but he has had plenty games where he just looks, well not good. Hard to say if we had some receivers that could catch the ball how that would have changed his confidence or the stats but not real thrilled about getting to watch him for another whole season. Seems like CHF is banking of yet again just trying to muddle through another season to set up for season three, but at least for me is next year is a dumpster fire and is no better than this year, then it's not going to be pretty. I understand that we are not there from a talent perspective but the play calling and the team being flat for certain games better not happen next year..you need to start showing some improvement and IMHO that starts next year.

 

BTW no mention of HG is he no longer in contention or why haven't we seen his name mentioned any?

[AUApostle 7,651]

Coach Speak.

[Sizzle 3,914]

22 hours ago, cole256 said:

 

 

But if PT sucks I'm not listening to it's the o line, HB, wr, te pretty much everybody fault but his. This year is no excuses. And he doesn't have to win the Heisman but these games where you can't even muster a 100 yards is unacceptable. I can't believe some people tried to make that ok. But ok yeah. Let's go, can't wait to see what we got

Something I’ve learned over the years is that If you have to keep making excuses for your QB then you don’t have the right guy