Hugh Freeze on Auburn QB Payton Thorne: ‘I Made it Clear that I Believe in Him’

Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne doesn't back down from tough coaching and head coach Hugh Freeze likes what he saw from his quarterback.

Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne found all of his weapons against Alabama A&M. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze could not have been much more vocal about his confidence in quarterback Payton Thorne throughout the offseason.

Freeze decided to remain loyal to Thorne as opposed to bringing in a quarterback through the transfer portal.

Thorne went 13-of-21 for 322 yards and four touchdowns during the season opener, rewarding Freeze's confidence.

Freeze talked about some of the conversations he had with Thorne during the game, particularly after throws Freeze was not a fan of.

““I talked to him right after the play on the sidelines,” Freeze said. “And now we have the iPads over there where I or Jessie (Stone) are, if I’m busy or there’s a timeout, I can go and say, ‘Do you see what I see?’ Payton can take the hard coaching.

"I wish that the camera wasn’t on me all of the time. My wife got onto me about one of those, but you know it was a third-down play, and I know how critical those downs are in coming weeks. I expect him to get those right, and I think that’s a positive that he should take. If I didn’t believe that he could get those right, I wouldn’t be quite this upset.

“I expect him to get that right 95 percent of the time on certain things that I was upset with the other night. I was really only upset one time and frustrated a few others. He still made good throws and made a touchdown or whatever, but he didn’t get himself protected like he’s supposed to. I don’t want him taking unnecessary hits, and I made it clear that I believe in him. With that comes the expectation that if I know we have thoroughly discussed something, that the expectation is that you get that right. He handles that fine.” 

Freeze talked about some things Thorne needs to clean up after the game on Saturday as well.

“Payton (Thorne) has got to clean up a few things too and what frustrates me and the thing is he knows better,” Freeze said. “We missed a wide open spot right on third down that is his first progression and he knows that and we’ve got to get him to where that doesn’t happen.”

Thorne is in his fourth season as a power five starting quarterback. Freeze is confident in his ability to correct the mistakes he made in week one and prepare to help Auburn beat Cal.