Payton Thorne Ready to Take Auburn Tigers Offense to 'Next Level'

Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne talks up explosive wide receiver Malcolm Simmons who is already taking things to the "next level"

Payton Thorne Auburn Tigers Quarterback / Austin Perryman, Auburn University Athletics

Much of the buzz on the Auburn Tigers campus this offseason has been the stratospheric talent of star receiver Cam Coleman.

Take a deep breath everyone. The 18-year-old from Phenix City celebrated a birthday on Wednesday and Alabama comes as advertised thus far. The season really can't roll around quick enough. 

Lest we forget, head coach Hugh Freeze has successfully put together an explosive pass catching unit, one which tight end Rivaldo Fairweather said just the other day opponents "would not be able to stop."

Look no further than starting quarterback Payton Thorne for even more compelling evidence that the 2024 crop of wide receivers has got more than just Coleman to hurt defenses, it's also got speedster Malcolm Simmons.

"First thing starts with the amazing speed," said Thorne of Simmons. "The kid can fly and that’s obviously showing you his track speed. His jumping ability. I think his Instagram is something like ‘freak-something (freak0fnatureee).’ He lives up to the name. He is a freak.

"But you look out there and we’ve got a lot of guys like that," Thorne continued. "We’ve got a lot of guys that can run in that room, and we’ve got a lot of guys that can shake in that room too…and that can run. That’s a rare combo.

After last season's well-documented trials and tribulations, it's entirely understandable that Thorne is currently salivating at the thought of several speed burners breaking the field wide open for him.

That being said, in order to swing the window of opportunity wide open - Thorne is fully aware that if he can blend his veteran chops with quarterback coach Kent Austin, they can bust open Pandora's Box in 2024.

"We were going over some stuff today that's just really refreshing to be going over, just next-level stuff," Thorne enthused during Tigers media availability last week. "We can sit down and break down defenses. That's going to be awesome... that's huge for me obviously. Now that I'm a veteran guy and I've been around for quite a while now in the college game."

Tigers fans' ears will really prick up when they hear their signal caller say that himself and Austin are taking things to the next-level. 

Due to Thorne coming into the mix just too late last year, project Freeze on the offensive side never got on track with the former Michigan State man pulling the strings, or Austin taking a much more hands-on role.

That is about to change dramatically moving forward. Isn't it funny how new talented faces stretching the field can really put the spring back in the step of a quarterback?