The unpopular Auburn football offensive arrangement where Payton Thorne struggles to get the offense down the field then gets swapped out for Robby Ashford, then the offense gets momentum under Ashford, then Thorne goes back in on third down and usually doesn’t convert — aka AU’s current two-quarterback system — is “here to stay” according to The Auburn Observer’s Justin Ferguson.
“It sounds like Freeze and Auburn offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery are continuing to stick to their guns as they enter the second half of the season,” Ferguson prefaced before saying, “There could be tweaks to personnel at spots, such as wide receiver Caleb Burton III getting his first real playing time of the season against LSU last Saturday. (Freeze said Burton, who had two receptions, should be in line for more playing time after his great work in recent practices.) But the two-quarterback system looks like it’s here to stay.”
“Awesome,” said (sarcastically of course) a large portion of Tiger fans who have absolutely had it with the team’s bland offense coming nowhere close to the opposition’s in SEC play on the road this season in response to this.
Auburn football quarterback position needs a facelift in 2024
Whether it’s Little Rock Christian Academy’s Walker White coming in and being ready to start from the jump, Holden Geriner maturing into the role, Hank Brown making a big jump after redshirting in 2023, Ashford finally getting the keys to the offense after proving himself or a proven transfer portal arm coming in and cleaning things up, something needs to change in 2024.
The position is holding the offense back amidst a solid performance from the running back room, whose lowest yards-per-carry average belongs to Jarquez Hunter at 3.8 YPC, and is making the Plains a tough sell to talented receivers in the portal market.
There’s time to ditch this ineffective scheme and figure out a way to run an offense worthy of the SEC label. But sticking to their guns is the last thing Hugh Freeze and Philip Montgomery need to consider.