SDS counts out youngest Auburn scholarship QB in starting battle

Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara sees only two options for Auburn football under center during the 2023 season: incoming Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne and incumbent starter Robby Ashford. Notably missing is redshirt freshman Holden Geriner — who is entering his second collegiate season.

As O’Gara explains, the lack of Power Five experience for the Benedictine Military School product keeps him from realistically getting a chance to lead Auburn during the first year of the Hugh Freeze era.

“Auburn feels like it’s just Thorne against Robby Ashford,” O’Gara wrote. “That’s not to dismiss Holden Geriner, but given the fact that the Tigers now have 2 guys with legitimate Power 5 reps, it does feel like a true 2-way battle.”

Payton Thorne in pole position to win Auburn football QB1 job

The presence of Thorne on the Auburn football roster is in and of itself a bad sign for the rest of the quarterbacks in the Tigers’ quarterback room. If there wasn’t a clear need for a starting-caliber QB, Freeze would’ve stuck with Ashford and Geriner and not pursued one of the transfer portal’s most sought-after signal-callers.

Thorne is undoubtedly an impact addition to AU, almost singlehandedly changing the trajectory of the team according to some. After A-Day, though it was a rainy mess of a spring game exhibition, confidence was low on the QBs Bryan Harsin had brought in over the past two years.

Now Freeze has a quarterback he handpicked to lead his offense, which is what just about every head coach in the country wants. Particularly in the first season with a new program.

The odds of Thorne not winning the job are low barring a massive improvement from Ashford in the passing game. Come September 2, it’d be a massive upset if anyone but Thorne is taking that first snap against UMass.