The media has been abuzz this past week after Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze mentioned in a teleconference last Wednesday that he was “considering” stepping away from Payton Thorne as the Tigers’ starting quarterback.
In his November 11 press conference, Coach Freeze provided further insights on the matter.
Hugh Freeze on Payton Thorne Injury, who will start against ULM for Auburn football
“Payton (Thorne) has been playing solidly. He couldn’t practice last week due to his shoulder, so we’ll monitor this week’s progress with him and others taking reps. That’s not to say I don’t think he’s been playing well recently. But sometimes, looking at the big picture isn’t easy, because you care about your players and want the best for them. Our priority is choosing what gives us the best shot to win the last three games, so we’ll assess everyone’s health first,” Freeze explained.
Hugh Freeze on Practice Reps from Walker White, Hank Brown, Holden Geriner
During the second open week, we gave the other players a lot of reps in the three practices we had. We wrapped it up with a short scrimmage between the offense and defense, focusing on those who don’t usually get as many reps. The offense won the scrimmage, highlighted by a pass play from Walker White to one of the young receivers. It was great to see them get some time on the field, and we also made sure to give Holden Geriner and Hank Brown a good number of reps.
Hugh Freeze has opened the QB competition back up
Coach Freeze appears to have shifted from simply discussing a change to actively creating a quarterback competition, where each QB must demonstrate their value to earn playing time.
It’s also noteworthy that Hank Brown is getting practice snaps, despite being redshirted this year, indicating that Coach Freeze is focusing on the future of the quarterback position.
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