Payton Thorne Benched, What's Next for Auburn Tigers

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze made the late-decision on Friday to bench Payton Thorne. What's next for Auburn and new starter Hank Brown?

Auburn Tigers quarterback Hank Brown is scheduled to start against New Mexico in place of Payton Thorne. / Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers

Head coach Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers have decided to go in a different direction at the quarterback position for their matchup with New Mexico.

Calls for a change at the position were loud after Payton Thorne’s four-interception outing against Cal last week. After a week of practice, Freeze came to the decision that making a switch was the way to go.

Brown, a redshirt freshman who appeared in one game for Auburn last season, played the second half of the Tigers’ season-opening beatdown of Alabama A&M, but this will be the first start of his collegiate career.

Brown’s arm strength has been put on display. Two moments that come to mind are the 48-yard bomb he delivered to Cam Coleman during Auburn’s A-Day scrimmage and the 57-yard touchdown pass in Auburn’s season opener.

Welcome to college football, @CamColeman12 🍿 pic.twitter.com/VYrR4H4UpJ

— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) April 6, 2024

Brown possess the ability to get the ball down the field but is still limited in experience obviously. There is a better chance than not of Auburn relying more on the run game against New Mexico, particularly early in the game, to give Brown an opportunity to settle in.

This move puts some pressure on the rest of the team as a whole, but particularly the offense. Everyone around Brown will want to do everything they can to give him the best chance to succeed.

Additionally, starting Brown could serve as a morale boost for the team to get things back on track after unexpectedly losing at home.

The question everyone wants answered is why this decision was made so late. Freeze said he would see how things went at practice this week before making a decision, but Friday of game week seems last minute.

Could Thorne have picked up an injury? The timing on that would be inconvenient and quarterbacks wear no-contact jerseys in practice making that unlikely. Was there a falling out after Freeze's very-public criticism of Thorne? How will the rest of the team respond after rallying around Thorne this week?

The move brings up more questions than answers in what should have been a relatively quiet game against the New Mexico Lobos.

Brown will make his first collegiate start with the Tigers at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. ESPN2 will carry the broadcast.