Auburn football QB excited to reunite with ‘best friend’ versus Cal

The Auburn football program has a unique challenge ahead of it this weekend. The Tigers will be traveling nearly 2,500 miles to take on the Cal Golden Bears on the West Coast in a game whose kickoff time, 9:30 p.m. central time, is tied for the latest in Auburn football history.

Head coach Hugh Freeze has made it known he is not a fan of the matchup, dreading both the long journey and the long waiting period on Saturday before the game. However, starting quarterback Payton Thorne is looking forward to the trip because he’ll be reuniting with high school teammate Sam Jackson, the starting QB for the Golden Bears.

The pair played high school ball together at Naperville Central, near Chicago. After Jackson transferred to Naperville his sophomore year, Thorne—who was the starter—took the younger QB under his wing and they became good friends, according to Auburn Undercover:

"“I can’t wait to see him,” Thorne said after Auburn’s 59-14 win over UMass. “That’s one of my absolute best friends. We’ll be friends for the rest of our lives. … He’s an electric player. It’s going to be fun to play against him.”"

Jackson became a 4-star quarterback and signed with TCU out of high school, playing two seasons with the Horned Frogs before transferring to Cal during the offseason. He was named QB1 ahead of the 2023 season but suffered a shoulder injury last week against North Texas. Whether or not he’ll play against Payton Thorne and Auburn football will be a game-time decision.

Whether or not he gets to play, Jackson referred to Thorne as someone he could always call, and is looking forward to seeing his former teammate and best friend ahead of the game this Saturday. The Tigers will kick off from California Memorial Stadium at 9:30 p.m. central time on ESPN.