It's official: Hank Brown is Payton Thorne's top backup on the Auburn football depth chart. Hugh Freeze named the redshirt freshman his QB2 on the August 19 edition of Tiger Talk. Where that leaves Holden Geriner in his third season is anyone's guess, while Walker White looks destined for a redshirt just like Brown took in 2023.
Thorne has Freeze's full backing for the second year in a row, though the head coach sounded open to a QB competition this offseason after Brown's breakout at the Music City Bowl against Maryland; when Brown threw seven completions in nine pass attempts and rejuvenated the Tiger fans that stuck around in the late-December Nashville cold for the 31-13 route.
That game will be on everyone's mind whenever Thorne makes a mistake this coming season. Brown likely will have a showcase opportunity against Alabama A&M Week 1. That'd most likely come in the second half with the Tigers up big. The alternative, AU needing a new arm under center, might just end Thorne's QB1 prospects on the spot. No need to think such negative thoughts, though.
Holden Geriner may never get shot with Auburn football
Geriner not earning the backup role feels like the biggest development here. The Benedictine Military School product is the last remaining Bryan Harsin holdover at the position, and while Freeze was able to get the most out of Harsin-era RBs like Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston, the QB position is nowhere near as malleable.
Geriner may have never had a shot with Freeze in charge.
The "Freeze Four" may well accelerate Auburn's timeline in 2025. If the right transfer QB comes around, Freeze might change his tune and want to spend a million dollars on a portal arm. Even Brown and White may have to contend with insurmountable competition.
For Geriner, Brown has been too great a challenge on the depth chart. One wonders if a program out there could offer him the time he isn't going to get on the Plains.