Auburn’s 2023 Position Battles: Quarterback

Who will Auburn start at quarterback in 2023?

With the reboot and rebuild of the Auburn football roster complete, Coach Hugh Freeze & Co. have acquired a lot of new faces and talent to compliment the quarterback room for this upcoming season. With new talent gracing the wide receiver room, the offensive line room, and the running back room, the Tigers' quarterbacks look to be spoiled for choice in how to command this Auburn offense down the field.

Offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery likes to put up a balanced attack on the offensive front, wearing down the defensive line with hard-nosed, explode-the-gap running to effectively lull the secondary into tighter coverage to then hit them over the top with intermediate to deep passing threats. 

With the additions of Dillon Wade, Connor Lew, Izavion Miller, and Jaden Muskrat to beef up the offensive line, much more than fans have seen in recent years, the Tigers look to protect their man under center much more effectively this upcoming season. So with this new talent and offensive scheme in the works, the question before us today is who in the Auburn quarterback room will be the most effective and efficient at running this new type of offensive attack for the Auburn Tigers?

The Case for Payton Thorne:

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

As the faithful fanbase of the Auburn Tigers already know Payton Thorne comes to the plains via the Michigan State Spartans as arguably one of the most premier transfer portal grabs for Coach Freeze & Co. this offseason. This young man has had a rather impressive career to date specifically with the consistency in which he accurately puts the ball into his receiver’s hands. Boasting roughly a 60-percent completion over his three-year stint with Michigan State. 

Although he may not be as flighty as some of his peers within the SEC when it comes to a pocket breakdown, Thorne seems to be poised and accurate under pressure which will come in handy facing the competition he is soon to be facing week in and week out. All in all, Thorne presents a strong case to push for the starting role as Auburn Football’s quarterback this upcoming 2023 season. 

The Case for Robby Ashford:

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

As many know the arrival of Thorne on the plains has sparked a significant competition in the quarterback room for the ever so coveted starting role. As fans are also aware of Robby Ashford returns this season as a sophomore and the previous starter for the majority of the 2022 season. In Robby’s 2022 season he threw for a 49-percent completion rating while boasting nearly 710-yards rushing. 

Ashford's ability to break out of the pocket and run loose with the football when his passing progressions have broken down is his x-factor. Provided that he significantly improves his touch when airing the ball out to increase his completion percentage over the summer and fall camps, Ashford should stand to be formidable competition for top spot this 2023 season. 

The Case for anyone else on the roster:

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

While Payton and Robby are vying for the top position, there are several other quarterbacks in the room.

Holden Geriner, a returning redshirt freshman, and Hank Brown, a freshly minted plainsmen are also within the room working hard to place their names within the selection hat for reps this upcoming season. These two young men could equally find themselves putting in reps for the Tigers as the grueling SEC seasons grinds into the winter months as injuries become more prevalent and should remain prepared should they be called to action. 

Auburn’s quarterback play will need to be vastly improved from last year’s performance if the Tiger’s wish to continue with the steam they have built off a successful recruiting offseason. Freeze and his staff seem to be extremely prepared and extremely excited to begin the upcoming season to show off just how much improvement they have been capable of accomplishing in such a short period of time. 

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