AUBURN — Payton Thorne has proven himself at the collegiate level, but he has yet to show if he can consistently perform well for Auburn University football.
Thorn joined the Tigers via the portal in May 2023 after four seasons at Michigan State, where he appeared in 29 games and threw for 6,763 yards and 56 touchdowns. He started 26 games and led the Spartans to a 16-10 record, including an 11-2 record in 2021 that included a win over Pittsburgh in the Peach Bowl.
The 2021 season was Thorn's most productive season, as he set career highs in passing yards (3,232), passing touchdowns (27), rushing touchdowns (4), yards per attempt (8.6) and passing efficiency (148.1). That season, he was the Big Ten's fourth-best passer behind C.J. Stroud (Ohio State), Taulia Tagovailoa (Maryland) and Aidan O'Connell (Purdue).
Stroud and O'Connell previously played for the NFL's Houston Texans and Las Vegas Raiders, respectively, while Tagovailoa signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League after attending Seattle Seahawks rookie minicamp this offseason.
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Whether it was a lack of ability, a coaching blunder, a talent gap or a combination of all three, Thorn, who produced the same numbers as a future NFL quarterback, wasn't on the Plains last season.
Auburn's passing attack was a waste in 2023. The Tigers only threw for over 200 yards against an SEC team once (Mississippi State) and under 150 yards four times (Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama).
Their 162.2 passing yards per game this season was last in the SEC and nearly 20 yards behind the closest team.
Thorn will be the first to admit that 2023 didn't go as planned. He enrolled at Auburn with two seasons of eligibility, hoping to give himself more material to consider for the 2024 NFL Draft. That didn't happen, and he's now back with the Tigers.
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze has talked about the quarterback competition all spring — he said Holden Geliner and Hank Brown were contenders, and freshman Walker White also showed signs of talent — but watching practice it was clear Thorn had a firm grip on the starting spot.
For Thorn to be a starter for the entire season, things will need to be better in 2024. That much is clear. But what exactly needs to change, and what are legitimate expectations for the former Spartan?
First, the offense can't be one-dimensional — the Tigers attempted a pass on 38.2 percent of their plays last season, the lowest mark for any Freese team in his 11 seasons as an FBS coach — and Thorne has to prove reliable enough down-to-down to allow the staff to entrust him with the ball.
But it's not all Thorn's fault: The weapons around him often let him down in 2023. According to Pro Football Focus stats, Thorn's adjusted completion percentage of 70.2%, which takes into account dropped balls and incomplete passes, was nearly identical to his 2021 production (70.3%).
It's fair to expect Thorne to get better at dealing with pass rushers. He was pressured on 90 dropbacks last season and was sacked on 35.6 percent of them. That was the worst pressure-to-sack ratio in the SEC, suggesting Thorne has to get better at either fending off opponents or knowing when to get the ball out.
Overall, the expectation for Thorne in 2024 is improved poise, and the increase in talent around receiver, especially, should help with that, with freshmen such as five-star recruit Cam Coleman and transfers such as Penn State's top receiver in the class of 2023, Ke'Andre Lambert-Smith, joining the team.
A calmer demeanor would likely give the staff more confidence in Thorn and result in a better passing game, which would likely improve the production, but a competent offense that doesn't rely too much on the run should be prioritized.
While much of the responsibility will fall on Thorn's shoulders, the coaching staff will also need to improve — a change in offensive coordinator would help — to put Thorn in the best position possible.
Richard Silva is an Auburn University sports reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached by email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter X (formerly Twitter) @rich_silva18.
