OutKick’s Grayson Weir had unfairly brutal criticisms of the Auburn football program’s QB room, specifically the group’s performance during the April 8 A-Day spring game — one that became a showcase for the run game as the Tigers’ top three quarterback options threw a combined 12 passes.
“Both Ashford and Finley returned in 2023 and entered a three-way battle with former four-star Holden Geriner,” Weir prefaced before saying, “None of the three signal-callers stood out during spring practice, and their rain-soaked spring game performance was abysmal. Spring games ultimately don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but it was not an inspiring afternoon.”
Abysmal is a tad too strong a descriptor and perhaps a bit overblown. Ashford connected on a 39-yard downfield bomb to Tigers transfer-turned-Colorado wideout Tar’Darish Dawson in what was perhaps the most impressive throw of any QB in the state of Alabama who has started an SEC game before during spring games. Holden Geriner completed more passes than he didn’t and showed, at worst, game-manager potential under center in the country’s strongest conference.
Payton Thorne ‘might’ be the answer under center for Auburn football
Weir was unwilling to commit to calling Auburn football transfer portal target Payton Thorne the answer for the Tigers in 2023. With that said, the OutKick writer didn’t completely write off the Michigan State defector doing big things for AU this coming fall.
“Auburn needs a quarterback, and Payton Thorne might be the answer,” Weir prefaced before saying, “‘Might” being the key word.”
On the other hand, Auburn Daily’s Andrew Stefaniak believes Thorne would be a major get for Hugh Freeze’s coaching staff in response to a report from the ESPN College Football Transfer Portal Twitter account that the former Spartan was Plains-bound.
“If this is an accurate report, this is extremely exciting, as Thorne is a quarterback who can come in and help Auburn win an extra game or two in 2023,” Stefaniak wrote.