Thorne in Auburn's side: Hugh Freeze's reluctance to be aggressive at QB

Thorne in Auburn's side: Hugh Freeze's reluctance to be aggressive at QB is halting Tigers' progression

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Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said he just couldn't bring himself to spend big money on a transfer portal quarterback this offseason.

After watching Payton Thorne throw four interceptions in a 21-14 loss to Cal inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, maybe he should have!

Rather than upgrade a position that clearly held Auburn back during Freeze's 6-7 first season on the Plains, Freeze, citing an alleged $1 million cost to adding a transfer QB, preferred to surround Thorne with a better supporting cast in the (misguided) belief it'd elevate his play. That meant going all-in at the receiver position, landing Penn State transfer Keandre Lambert-Smith, five-star Cam Coleman and top 40 receiver recruit Perry Thompson to give Thorne plenty of weapons to work with this season.

It all looked great in an easy 73-3 Week 1 win over Alabama A&M. Thorne threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns, the new receivers all looked great and there was lots of positivity rolling into Week 2.

Thorne, who deserves credit for being a tough, hard-nosed quarterback, is great at beating up on overmatched FCS opponents. But in his 15 Auburn games against FBS teams, he averages a pitiful 126 passing yards per game and has thrown a total of 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Can you imagine Miami quarterback Cam Ward throwing to Lambert-Smith and Coleman downfield? Or having Will Howard execute the Freeze offense? Or even taking a chance on someone like Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord, who looks rejuvenated in Syracuse, or Baylor transfer Blake Shapen, who appears to be a good fit in Jeff Lebby's Mississippi State offense. All of them were available in the transfer portal plus other big names like Oregon's Dillon Gabriel, Notre Dame's Riley Leonard and Duke's Maalik Murphy.