A lot of BUZZ KILLINGTON on Payton Thorne squeezing through the port hole and committing to the War Eagles. Could be just rumor, but hopefully we hear something soon either way.
If it happens, I see it as a definite upgrade, to say the least. There were times when I thought Ashford was as bad as anything Auburn had ever put on the field at QB. We're talking Kadril Frayzha, Fetal Mosely bad. Yes, a lot of that had to do with being thrown into the fire behind a shitty line in a Bryman Hatpin offense. I will admit that when Caddy took over, and got back to the basics, in a run oriented offense, RA showed a few flashes of what could be, especially with his athleticism.
But the guy is a total unknown.
Payton Thorne would bring two years of starting experience in the Big 10. In 2021, Meat Chicken State went 11-2. Thorne was:
235-389 60.4% 3,240 yards 27 TD 10 INT
MSU fell hard to 5-7 last year.
242-387 62% 2,679 yards 19 TD 11 INT
Not overwhelming stats, but solid. A little concern with the interceptions, but way more good than bad. To put it in perspective, since Cam Newton in 2010, only once has an AU quarterback thrown for 19 or more TD's. Nick Marshall threw for 20 TD's in 2014.