Hugh Freeze Puts Auburn Tigers QB Payton Thorne on Notice with 'Short Leash'

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze is going to find out how well his 5th-year senior quarterback responds to pressure.

Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne is on a "short leash" according to head coach Hugh Freeze. / Austin Perryman, Auburn University Athletics

The fortunate thing for the Auburn Tigers after their loss to Cal is that it came early in the season and they have many opportunities in front of them to show how capable of a team they are. However, time may be running out on senior quarterback Payton Thorne as head coach Hugh Freeze put his starter-for-now on notice.

Freeze expressed how the disappointment from the loss against Cal has the team excited to play this week during the SEC head coaches teleconference.

“I thought their (Cal) kids played extremely hard and were well-coached but it’s disappointing for sure,” Freeze said. “It makes us very excited to have another opportunity to get out and get better.”

Freeze knows New Mexico presents challenges for Auburn after watching them score 39 points on Auburn No. 21 Arizona.

“This New Mexico team is a scary one also,” Freeze said. “They put up a ton of points against both opponents they played, one of them was a top-20 team in Arizona. It’ll be a good challenge to see how the leadership of our team handles adversity.”

One of Auburn’s biggest problems against Cal was quarterback play. Payton Thorne did not have his best day as he threw four interceptions. Freeze will not have much tolerance for another bad performance from that spot.

“After watching the film, there’s a very short leash on us playing as poorly as we did in certain moments in that game at that position,” Freeze said. “I know the quarterbacks always get a ton of criticism and it’s not always exactly them, but there are plays that we had that he’s (Thorne) expected to make that he didn’t make in that game in critical moments so he’s got to produce for sure.”

Getting a team to refocus after a tough loss can be one of the most difficult tasks a head coach is faced with. That is the position Freeze finds himself in ahead of this week’s game.

“That seems to get harder and harder in today’s times, but it’s a challenge that you’re tasked with as the head coach,” Freeze said. “You hope and pray that the leadership of you’re team is your biggest asset to understand that this is just like life and adversity will reveal your character and how you respond to that.

“The good thing is we’ve got a lot of young kids that just want to play and just want to get better. We’re depending upon a lot of them.”

Even with the program still in the rebuilding stage, losses like this are not acceptable for Freeze.

“I’ve said that it’s going to take some patience in building this program here and that doesn’t excuse our performance on Saturday by any means,” Freeze said. “We’re excited about where it’s headed with the recruiting and these young kids that we’re playing right now, but responding accurately to disappointment in this season is going to be vital for us.”

Auburn will aim to get back on track against New Mexico on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT. ESPN2 will carry the broadcast.