Former Alabama QB predicts what Auburn offense will look like in 2023

Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, now the host of Always College Football, said on the May 9 edition of the ESPN show that the Auburn football offense under former Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery will be a run-heavy unit that sets up play-action sets (Payton Thorne’s specialty) during the 2023 season.

“Granted, not necessarily always great when it comes to wins and losses in his time as a head coach, but you knew what (Philip Montgomery’s Tulsa) identity was,” McElroy said. “They wanted to pound the football, they wanted to run the football. They wanted to compliment the run game with the play-action pass. And that’s what Payton Thorne has excelled with in the past. I expect him to have a really nice year.”

Thorne, while certainly not immobile, is mainly a passer who isn’t prone to use his feet to make plays. The former Michigan State Spartan called his own number in 132 instances in the past two seasons total while averaging 353 passing attempts in each of the last two seasons.

Auburn football QB1 options could not be more different

With Holden Geriner seemingly written off in the quarterback competition, Thorne and Robby Ashford are the two remaining QB1 options left — and the two signal-callers couldn’t be any more different.

Ashford is a run-first scramble threat who went for over 100 rushing yards in two of the Tigers’ last four games during the 2022 season against Mississippi State and Alabama in the Iron Bowl, thriving following the implementation of Carnell “Cadillac” Williams as head coach. Thorne had over 1,000 more passing yards than Ashford last season in one more appearance.

The need for a QB like Thorne was proof that a more proven passer was necessary for Freeze and co., though it should be noted that nobody has been named the starter for the 2023 season as of yet.