Hugh Freeze on Auburn's Quarterback Shuffle: 'I Have No Idea'

Hugh Freeze playing dumb at the quarterback position will undoubtedly draw the Ire of already disgruntled Auburn Tigers fans.

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze has watched his quarterbacks throw eight interceptions in their two losses. / John Reed-Imagn Images

Fans of the Auburn Tigers who were looking for some comfort about the current shambolic quarterback scenario found out the hard way that it certainly wasn't forthcoming when head coach Hugh Freeze met with the media this week.

"I have no idea sitting here right now, but i'll go back to work tomorrow on it," Freeze answered when asked his plans at quarterback this week against the Oklahoma Sooners. "I'll be as locked in as I've ever been to try and get it fixed."

Try, try and try again in the all-too predictable reset position.

Of course, a week is a long time in football, so one can only hope against hope that Freeze will come up with a few light bulb moments in short order - heaven knows he needs them. It's obvious he's frustrated with senior Payton Thorne and freshman Hank Brown, but both of those players were on campus last year. These are Hugh Freeze picks at the position.

Just how rudderless and seemingly devoid of fresh ideas Freeze actually is might shock Tigers fans. It's fair to say they're quickly growing tired of the same old routine.

Only very fleetingly did redshirt freshman Hank Brown offer a ray of hope, but throwing the ball to the other team soon put paid to that. After stat padding against an outmatched New Mexico Lobos team in his first start, Brown threw three interceptions in the first half against Arkansas.

"He did not play well in the first half," Freeze admitted after the game. "He missed open guys and obviously threw the ball into coverage. Then we're in the red zone again, he double clutches and kind of floats it over the middle . So obviously, we're not doing a very good job of coaching quarterbacks."

You said it, coach.

Truth is, Freeze is running on empty when it comes to where he might pivot. He put his eggs in the Payton Thorne basket when he neglected to hit the transfer portal for an experienced quarterback. Where does that leave him? Returning to the levels of experience that at least Thorne provides this listing team.

Thorne was much better after a week so contemplate. He provided a spark in the second half against Arkansas with two touchdowns and an interception. In fairness to Thorne, his batted ball interception was pretty darn unlucky as Freeze attested to, but it really summed up the Tigers struggles on Saturday.

Here's the brutal reality check, losing to the Arkansas Razorbacks puts Freeze and his Tigers outfit in a real bind at .500, and we all know the stern challenges that now loom large.

You could even go as far as to say that Freeze has put his own job in jeopardy, make no bones about it, the natives are getting restless.

Turnover prone football has come to define this season thus far, and everytime the level of competition has risen - it's found that Auburn have been found badly wanting.

If only Freeze had made a run at a new quarterback as a contingency plan during the transfer portal is the burning question on pretty much everyone's lips right now.

Just maybe, Freeze thought his "pet project" with Brown might bear some fruit in some of the bigger SEC match-ups, but he wasn't expected to throw Brown into the deep end this soon in his career.

Despite the denial, we fully expect Thorne to start under center this weekend against the number 21 seeded Oklahoma Sooners, quite truthfully, he doesn't have many options.