Will Payton Thorne remain QB1? "You have to carry that over into the games."

Something's got to give at the quarterback position, as Hugh Freeze said Monday. Here's more on that — and some important injury news.

QBs Hank Brown, Payton Thorne and Holden Geriner (Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)

The in-stadium boos directed toward Payton Thorne after his fourth and final interception of Auburn’s 21-14 at Cal on Saturday were quite noticeable.

The frustration with the Tigers’ second-year starting quarterback only grew even louder online over the last 48 hours.

Will Hugh Freeze make a change at the quarterback position ahead of Auburn’s Week 3 game against New Mexico — a paycheck game before the start of SEC play?

That was the question on everyone’s minds Monday afternoon. And the answer is, well, up in the air.

“Could it? Yes,” Freeze said. “Do I think I want to see how the week goes before I really decide that? Yes. I want to see how the week goes and see how everybody responds to what is on the tape.”

Thorne remained Auburn’s starting quarterback, even after a rough 2023 season, because Freeze and his staff saw that the ultra-experienced former transfer was the best at leading the Tigers’ offense in practices. That was the case during spring practices, and it became even more evident during fall camp.

But Freeze is seeing a disconnect between the Thorne in practices and the Thorne in games.

In eight starts at Auburn against FBS teams with a winning record, Thorne is now 84-156 (53.8%) passing for 816 yards (5.23 YPA) for five touchdowns and nine interceptions. Auburn is 0-8 in those games.

“It's really hard for me to not play a young man that is consistently the best performer in practice, over and over and over and over again,” Freeze said. “His execution of the offense, it's been pretty clear to all of us throughout fall camp and throughout the practice weeks and everything, his performance and his understanding of what we want to do has been better than the others. If you do that, then you kind of send a message that practice really doesn't matter.

“Having said that, you know, you have to carry that over into the games. You have to.”

What does that mean for Auburn’s quarterback room heading into what should be a tune-up game before the start of SEC play — where the competition level might be closer to Alabama A&M than Cal?

Will the Tigers roll out backup quarterback Hank Brown this week?

Let’s dive into that, along with some important injury updates and a look at the Tigers away from the quarterback position, in today’s Observer newsletter.