Payton Thorne near bottom half of 247Sports preseason SEC quarterback rankings

Where should Thorne fall in the preseason SEC quarterback rankings?

Lance Dawe | Jul 11, 2023

Payton Thorne near bottom half of 247Sports preseason SEC quarterback rankings /

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Auburn Tigers

The Tigers have pulled their projected starting quarterback out of the transfer portal.

Alongside 19 other valuable additions Hugh Freeze and his staff landed.

Payton Thorne, former Michigan State quarterback turned Auburn Tiger, is projected by a variety of outlets to be the Tigers' starting quarterback week one vs UMass despite not having taken a single rep in practice. Statistically, he's better than what the Tigers had coming back - Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner.

247Sports' Brad Crawford ranked Thorne No. 11 in his latest preseason SEC quarterback rankings.

Here's what Crawford had to say about his ranking of Thorne:

"Taking a shot here by paying a good deal of respect to Hugh Freeze, who plucked Michigan State's expected starter after spring to lead the Tigers. There's no guarantee Payton Thorne starts over Robby Ashford, but intel suggests Auburn would not have been portal-shopping so heavy at quarterback this spring had Freeze felt comfortable with the incumbent. Freeze and OC Philip Montgomery will work together when camp opens to determine which option can carry out the offense with poise and precision. Thorne is the more experienced player and likely gets the QB1 reps. The good news for Auburn ahead of Freeze's first season is the Tigers have refaced their offensive line and pass-catching positions to ease in this transition."

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