Auburn QB Payton Thorne Speaks Out on Positive Changes to Tigers Offense

Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne addressed the differences in the team's offense this season with On3's J.D. Pickell.

Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne / Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

Auburn Football quarterback Payton Thorne likes what tone is being set heading into the 2024 College Football season. In an interview with On3’s J.D. Pickell, Thorne talked about Auburn’s offense and the tune-ups the program is attempting to make.  

Head coach Hugh Freeze made major changes to the coaching staff after last season’s 6-7 finish. Thorne spoke positively of the staff changes and noted the differences under Auburn’s new offensive coordinator, Derrick Nix. 

“Coach Nix has brought a lot of excitement,” Thorne said. “A lot of energy - the pace of play has been great. There’s urgency during the summer as well. There’s more attention to detail, which is huge in the game of football, especially when you play quarterback.”

Nix was brought over from Ole Miss, a program that’s been putting together some of the best offenses in the SEC for the better part of a decade. The Rebels have been top three in the SEC in total offense every year since 2015. They also featured the conference’s No. 1 offense three times during that period. 

Meanwhile, Auburn has been in the bottom half of the conference in total offense for the entire 2020s decade. 

Nix also has experience working with Freeze, who was the head coach at Ole Miss from 2012 to 2016. The latter part of that era was when the Rebels’ offense really began to soar. The hope at Auburn is that these two come together and recreate some of the magic. 

An improved offense could put the Tigers over the top in close games, which is an area Auburn fell flat in 2023 - notably against key opponents. 

Thorne enters year two of playing two of Auburn’s top rivals, Georgia and Alabama. Both games last year were examples of close, tough losses. However, if it’s any consolation, each close loss showed that something is coming together.

Thorne said those close games built up the team's confidence. With an improved roster in 2024, Auburn could have an even better shot against Georgia and Alabama this fall.

“You look at our roster last year versus this year and our coaching staff last year versus this year and those two games especially, it’s like, OK. They were both at home, which helps, but at the same time football’s football. We were playing the game and you look at what we have now. We have a chance to compete and win these games.”