In his first career start, freshman quarterback Hank Brown led the Auburn Tigers to victory, defeating the New Mexico Lobos 45-19 on Saturday night and bringing the Tigers’ record to 2-1.
“It’s a great feeling, no doubt,” Brown said of his first career start. “Hearing the crowd roar, it’s a surreal feeling. It was definitely exciting getting that first long one in.”
Brown was named the starting quarterback against New Mexico following Auburn’s loss to the California Golden Bears where quarterback Payton Thorne threw four interceptions. The news came on Friday afternoon after a week of practice and reps at quarterback from Brown.
“I definitely had an inclination throughout the week based on my reps and communication with Coach (Freeze),” Brown said of his potential start against New Mexico. “But, nothing is given and everything is earned.”
While Brown may have earned the start at practice, he solidified it on Saturday night, throwing 17-for-25 for 235 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 13.8 yards per completion and managed no interceptions in 25 pass attempts.
Brown’s first touchdown pass came halfway into the first quarter on Auburn’s first drive of the contest. After leading the offense down the field with short passes and handoffs, Brown threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to the left side of the end zone, putting the Tigers up 7-3.
He did not find the end zone again in the first half, ending the second quarter 1-for-6 and the half 8-for-15. The second half, however, proved to be an adjustment for the redshirt freshman. Brown went 6-for-6 for 60 yards in the third quarter and 3-for-5 for 60 yards in the fourth quarter.
Auburn’s third touchdown of the night, and Brown’s second touchdown pass, came in the third quarter of the matchup against the Lobos. A pair of 31-yard and 19-yard rushes from running back Jarquez Hunter moved the Tigers down the field on the drive, where Brown found Micah Riley in the end zone for a 3-yard pass, allowing Auburn to find the scoreboard in the second half and take a 24-13 lead.
On the next drive of the game, the Auburn defense forced a New Mexico interception, and the Tigers took over on offense on their own 49-yard line. Brown quickly got the drive rolling, completing a 22-yard pass to Keandre Lambert-Smith, immediately followed by a 14-yard touchdown pass up the middle to Hunter, putting Auburn up 31-13.
Auburn Tiger quarterback Hank Brown (15) throwing a successful pass in the first half of the game against the New Mexico Lobos on September 14, 2024.
Brown ended the night with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Rivaldo Fairweather in the fourth quarter, capping his consistent second half performance. The quarterback finished the second half with three touchdown passes while completing 82% of his second half passes.
"I thought (Brown) was solid," said Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze. "I thought he got us into the right checks, earning the game, and it was good to see him take the RPOs when he had them."
Brown’s performance on Saturday secured his spot as starting quarterback in Auburn’s first SEC matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks next weekend.
“Hank will be the starter next week,” Freeze said when asked if the quarterback battle would continue at practice. “I think the next couple of weeks will show us exactly where we are with that.”
In its first conference matchup of the season, Auburn will face Arkansas next Saturday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CST and will be televised on ESPN.
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
