A familiar face will lead <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/auburn-tigers/">Auburn</a>‘s offense in the 2024 campaign. Head coach <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/hugh-freeze-134705/">Hugh Freeze</a> has officially named <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/payton-thorne-95972/">Payton Thorne</a> the Tigers’ starting quarterback for its Week 1 matchup against <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/alabama-am-bulldogs/">Alabama A&M</a>.



Thorne transferred from <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-state-spartans/">Michigan State</a> to Auburn ahead of the 2023 season. He started in 12 of the Tigers’ 13 games last year, tallying 1,755 passing yards and 16 touchdowns, compared to 10 interceptions.



<a href="https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/ON3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLICK HERE to go to PrizePicks and use code ON3 to receive a guaranteed $50 once you play $5 in lineups</a>!



Thorne also recorded 515 yards and three touchdowns in the ground game. Only one week into Auburn’s fall camp, Thorne began to separate himself from his competition in the quarterback room.



“One week in, I think Payton has gained an understanding of my mind and (Derrick) Nix’s mind on how we see this offense operating, and what we depend upon him to fix,” <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/auburn-tigers/news/hugh-freeze-says-payton-thorne-having-really-good-moments-in-camp-happy-with-qb-room-so-far/">Freeze said. </a>



<a href="https://www.fubo.tv/welcome/leagues/191261?irad=399332&irmp=1402407" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Watch College Football Games Live -Try for Free Fubo! Click HERE NOW</a>



“He had some really good moments where he did some things that made me go, ‘all right, that was smart’. It’s all about him understanding what the fixes are, particularly in our RPO game, and in our protection game.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-payton-thorne-primed-for-a-breakout-season">Is Payton Thorne primed for a breakout season?</h2>



Although Thorne was Auburn’s QB1 last season, he wasn’t entitled to the starting spot behind center. Thorne had to earn it, outshining returners <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/hank-brown-152486/">Hank Brown</a> and <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/holden-geriner-48176/">Holden Geriner</a> in practice, along with 2024 four-star freshman <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/walker-white-150911/">Walker White</a>.



After adding the <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/rankings/industry-team/football/2024/">No. 8 recruiting class</a> in the 2024 cycle and the <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/auburn-tigers/football/2024/transfers/">No. 12 transfer class</a> in the country this offseason, Auburn will have even more talent for Thorne to throw to in the upcoming season. Freeze is pleased with Thorne’s offseason progress.



“I don’t really want to even talk about last year, and I don’t want to set him up for undue criticism or anything,” Freeze said. “I mean, obviously quarterbacks are going to get criticized if you don’t have success, and they’re going to get all the praise if you do have success. But I’m pleased with exactly where (Payton) is.



“The work we’ve done in the off season to understand each other has been beneficial. I can see it. I think he’s very confident and obviously having guys that he feels like can win at the top end of the route is helpful, too, to eliminate some of that hesitation that I think makes for a really, really bad decision.”



Auburn will kick off its season with a showdown against Alabama A&M at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 31. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Payton Thorne (Photo by Matt Rudolph/Auburn Live)

On3 Football

Auburn names Payton Thorne starting quarterback

team image

The Main Board

Football

Basketball

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

Teams

Fan Sites

Forums

Shows

team-link

College Football News

College Football Player Rankings

College Football Rankings

College Football Playoff

College Basketball News

Women's Sports

College

NIL News

NIL Valuation

NIL Deals

NIL Deal Tracker

Sports Business

Transfer Portal News

NCAA Transfer Portal News

NCAA Transfer Portal

Transfer Portal Rankings

Transfer Portal Team Rankings

Transfer Portal

NCAA Transfer Portal Home

Football Recruiting

Basketball Recruiting

Database

Team Rankings

Player Rankings

Industry Comparison

Commitments

Recruiting Prediction Machine

Recruiting

High School News

Schools

High School Search

Rankings

High School Rankings

Scores

High School Scores

High School

NFL Draft

NFL Draft News

Draft By Stars

College Draft History

College Draft Totals

NBA Draft

NBA Draft News

Draft

NASCAR

Culture

Sports Betting

About

On3 App

Advertise

Press

Contact

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Annual $1

Annual Premium

Annual $1 

Monthly

Annual

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro

Join

College scoop, experts, and community - all in one.

Auburn names Payton Thorne starting quarterback

College Football Playoff

Darian Mensah

Jaden Rashada

Damon Wilson

Looking ahead