Hugh Freeze never had much of a grasp on the quarterback position at Auburn. Not only did he frequently have one-and-dones, like Walker White and Deuce Knight, and misfire on both of his QB1s, Jackson Arnold and Payton Thorne, but one of his 2026 QB recruits before flipping to Penn State, Peyton Falzone, has already been turned into a tight end in Happy Valley.
Falzone has thrived in his new position during the Nittany Lions' fall camp practices, according to 247 Sports' Tyler Donohue's sources.
"Penn State freshman Peyton Falzone was one of two quarterback prospects who signed with the program's 2026 recruiting class. As the Nittany Lions entered Week 2 of preseason camp, he is getting practice work at tight end, Lions247 learned Wednesday via multiple on-field sources and confirmed with the program," Donohue wrote.
"As mentioned in an 8 p.m. post on our Lions247 preseason updates thread this evening, staff feedback was that Falzone made a positive impression during Wednesday practice."
Falzone's senior season at Nazareth City was cut short, but in four games, he had 1,176 passing yards and threw 12 touchdown passes. He also amassed 216 rushing yards and six touchdowns via his legs. Falzone was good at the QB position, but clearly not a natural.
This is not an indictment of Falzone. The fact that he has a 4-star QB skill set but could thrive in protection and receiving means he's a special athlete.
It is, however, just another sign that Freeze was in over his head on the Plains.
Alex Golesh must prove his offensive merit with an eye for QBs
Alex Golesh must be better at spotting talent who can step in, learn the playbook, and run the offense effectively. That is the job description for every offensive-minded head coach. Freeze just didn't do aspects of his job well enough to justify the continued losing.
Freeze's inability to find up-to-snuff QB1s throughout the years can't be a staple of Golesh's tenure. Tiger fans' patience can't deal with the continued decline at the position since Bo Nix left in 2021.
Byrum Brown is a nice start. Many knock his throwing mechanics, but Brown is a proven entity at USF. Granted, Thorne was a proven entity coming from Michigan State, but he had Freeze's convoluted multi-man play-calling setup to deal with in year two.
Where Golesh takes the position beyond Brown could define his Auburn tenure. In 2027, Tristan Ti'a looks like the presumptive starter after showing out at A-Day. In 2028, Sam Sollie joins the room, but probably needs a year in the system to be comfortable with the playbook. Looking too far beyond that is tough at this point.
It'll come down to Golesh finding his guy and giving that guy a fair shot. Freeze didn't seem capable of that. Who knows if he would've had the attention to detail to make Falzone a tight end. He didn't seem to pay much attention to White during the 2024 season, or Holden Geriner during his two seasons under Freeze.
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