SEC legend sticks up for struggling star Auburn transfer

SEC legend Tim Tebow stuck up for struggling star Auburn football transfer Payton Thorne ahead of a Week 5 matchup with Georgia — claiming that it’s not all his fault that the offense has stagnated through the Tigers’ first month of the season.

“They’ve gotta find a way to get some life offensively,” Tebow said (h/t On3). “I think it’s at the quarterback position, but it’s also at the receiver position. It’s also offensive line.

“You know, it’s not like Payton Thorne had a lot of time. The receivers weren’t really winning a bunch of one-on-ones. They weren’t able to consistently run the ball. So there are a lot of people who just want to say quarterback and that’s not fair. It’s everybody on the offensive side.”

Hugh Freeze also supported Payton Thorne amidst Auburn football struggles

Hugh Freeze also stuck up for Thorne during the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry’s game week, blaming his coaching staff for not having the Michigan State transfer prepared.

“We had a good meeting Sunday night,” Freeze said on an SEC teleconference call on September 27 (h/t On3). “I feel like there are things our staff has let him down on. Some of it is him and he knows that and owns it. I promised him we would do a better job coaching him this week and preparing him. When you say coaching him, it means also the other positions need to be in the right spot at the right time for him.

“He understands the game from a mental perspective and when the ball is snapped, he knows ‘This dig should be the throw’ and if it’s not the right time from the receiver, it throws him off. Obviously, that leads to sacks. We’ve got to do a better job of helping him with that. At the same time, when you have a wheel route that is wide open, you got to hit it. Or a seam route. He seemed distracted in the pocket so we worked on pocket presence a good bit this week.”

It’s do or die for Thorne moving forward after a rough first month that had fans clamoring for the Hoover kid Robby Ashford, and even for third-stringer Holden Geriner.