Auburn QB Payton Thorne Full of Confidence for 2nd Season

Payton Thorne is under massive pressure to deliver in his final year as the Auburn Tigers quarterback, but he's brim full of confidence.

Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne speaking to the media at Omni Dallas Hotel / Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

Just how enthused Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze is about his next-gen group of young wide receivers provided a key takeaway from SEC Media Days in Dallas last week.

Similarly, Tigers starting quarterback Payton Thorne was just as excited about the current batch of Auburn pass catchers who are will suit up in 2024 on the Plains. 

Amongst that group is 5-star freshman Cam Coleman, a player who has the physically impressive 6-foot-3 frame which makes quarterbacks feel pretty confident about looking his way.

"He's been great so far. He's going to make a lot of plays for us this year, and Auburn is going to love him," Thorne enthused at SEC Media Days. "He gives the ability to spread the field, both horizontally and vertically. Teams are going to have to respect that, and I can't wait to be on the field with him."

Certainly, Coleman has the kind of unique field stretching skills that can make an offense really tick, especially within a set up where both offensive coordinator Derrick Nix and quarterback coach Kent Austin are going to have massive degrees of creative input.

Bedding into his second year at the controls of the ultra collaborative Tigers offense, Thorne sounds like he's thoroughly enjoying the refreshing process.

"A huge difference," Thorne noted the jump for year one to year two. "Last year getting here in the middle of summer, obviously that's not ideal going into a new offense, a new team, a new atmosphere.

Now we have a set plan. You're familiar with everything. There's going to be more confidence that comes with that. I think that good things are coming because of that. My confidence comes from the preparation that we've put in. I think it's been a really good offseason. I'm excited for what we have to come. We've got some new weapons."

In truth, Thorne is still being framed in the context of the failures of the Auburn passing game from last year, and it's proving really hard to shake off.

Coach Freeze has sounded a whole lot more confident in what Thorne can do moving forward - perhaps a lot more than the vast majority of Tigers fans.

It's been a massive credit to the strong personality of the Tigers starting signal caller that he's kept his cool, even in the face of questions being asked of his ability to lead the team successfully.

All told, Thorne knows he has to prove on a consistent basis that he can hit the marks when the pressure is on.

"The best quarterbacks are accurate," Thorne said. "It's not the guy who can throw it the farthest. It's not the guy who can run the fastest. It's the guy who gets the ball out on time and accurately that is a successful quarterback in college and in the NFL."

Of course, it's still plenty early but the turbo boost to everyone's confidence appears based more in the good old holy grail of solid preparation, the kind which good coaching so frequently delivers.

"There is a lot more confidence right now," Thorne enthused. "I trust the guys we have out there and they're making plays on the ball. That also comes down to coaching as well."