OFFICIAL: Quarterback Payton Thorne commits to SEC program
After just five days spent in the NCAA transfer portal, former Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne has committed to a new program to finish his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility.
Heavily rumored to be leaning towards a Southeastern Conference program since entering the portal on April 30, Thorne made it official on Friday that he will be transferring to Auburn University to play for the Tigers and new head coach Hugh Freeze.
Thorne's commitment to Auburn comes one day after the former Spartan signal-caller posted a farewell to Michigan State on social media. The redshirt senior thanked the MSU fanbase, former head coach Mark Dantonio and current head coach Mel Tucker for the opportunity to play for the Green and White.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Naperville, Ill. leaves Michigan State having made his way into the program's record books in several categories. Thorne's 49 career touchdown passes rank fourth all-time in program history, while his 6,494 passing yards rank sixth all-time. The redshirt senior's career 60.9% completion percentage is the fifth-best mark in MSU history, and his 524 completions rank sixth.
Now, Thorne will attempt to make his mark on an SEC program that hasn't enjoyed a winning season in three years and is on its third head coach in four years. Auburn hired Freeze this offseason, after previous head coach Bryan Harsin went just 8-12 through his first 20 games and was fired part-way through his second season. Freeze made his name at fellow SEC West program Ole Miss, where he compiled a record of 39-25 over five seasons in Oxford and took the Rebels as high as No. 3 in the national polls in back-to-back seasons.
Freeze was fired by Ole Miss after several recruiting violations occurred under his watch, in addition to having been caught contacting various female escort services using a university-issued cell phone. After two years away from the sport, Freeze was hired by Liberty University and led the Flames to a 34-15 record from 2019 to 2022. Liberty went 10-1 in 2020 and finished No. 17 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Thorne is the expected favorite to start for Auburn this fall, though he'll have to beat out the Tigers' incumbent starter Robby Ashford over the summer and into fall camp. With a 16-10 record in 26 career starts, Thorne will hold an edge in experience over Ashford when he arrives on the Plains.
After a breakout redshirt sophomore season in 2021, in which Thorne threw for a school-record 27 touchdown passes and the third-most passing yards in a single season (3,240), Michigan State's quarterback struggled through much of the 2022 season.
This spring, Thorne detailed his struggle with injuries throughout last season. That, combined with MSU's severe drop off in run production with the departure of Kenneth Walker III, led to a regression in Thorne's passing numbers a year ago. While he increased his completion percentage from 60.4% to 62.5%, Thorne saw his passing touchdowns decrease to 19 and his passing yards drop to 2,679 in 2022. He also threw 11 interceptions, one more than the previous season.
Despite being challenged for the starting quarterback role this spring by redshirt junior Noah Kim and redshirt freshman Katin Houser, Thorne's entry into the transfer portal last Sunday came as a major surprise to those who follow the program. Thorne was the perceived leader of the three-man QB battle following the Spartans' open practice on April 15.
The biggest gap between Thorne and his challengers was his experience. The redshirt senior has played in 29 games for the Green and White, making 26 career starts. Conversely, Kim has only attempted 19 career pass attempts, completing 14 of them (73.7%) for 174 yards and three touchdowns. Houser, meanwhile, has made just two career pass attempts in his young Spartan career.
Kim played very well in mop-up duty for the Spartans last season, and there is excitement for Houser, who is a former four-star prospect out of St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif. Coming out of high school, Houser was considered the No. 215 overall prospect and No. 14 quarterback in the Class of 2022. Those two will continue the battle for Michigan State's starting quarterback job this summer and into fall camp. MSU will also be joined by four-star West Linn (Ore.) quarterback Sam Leavitt, the No. 310 overall player and No. 18 quarterback in the Class of 2023, this summer.
For an updated look at Michigan State's incoming and outgoing transfers, click here.
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