After four weeks into the season, Hugh Freeze is left with lots of questions regarding his quarterback room.
“I have no idea sitting here right now,” Freeze said of the quarterback situation. “But I’ll go back tomorrow and I’ll be as locked in as I’ve ever been to try and get it fixed.”
Hank Brown received the start on Saturday and will look to soon forget the performance he displayed on the field, Saturday. After three first half interceptions, and the inept ability to muster up any points for the Tiger’s, Brown was benched for previous starter Payton Thorne.
"I thought he (Hank) deserved and earned the right to have the start, and I was anxious to see how he performed in SEC play," Freeze said. "And I love Hank. They're loved as individuals and cared for, but this is a performance-based business for me. And I get judged on that. They get judged on that. And he did not play well in the first half and missed open guys, and obviously threw the ball into coverage. We're in the red zone again and double clutches one and kind of floats it over the middle. Obviously, we're not doing a very good job coaching quarterbacks right now.”
With Browns’ benching, and the quarterback controversy continuing to be a problem, it leaves Freeze with a load of questions heading into a matchup against No. 21 Oklahoma.
Thorne got the start in the second half after the inefficiency of the offense under Brown’s tutelage. Thorne proved to be the spark the offense needed as he was able to lead Auburn to its only scores of the game.
After starting off 2-8 on his first two drives, Thorne connected with KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a 10 and 67-yard touchdown, respectively, as the Tigers’ lone highlight offensively.
"I thought Payton's (performance) was pretty solid," Freeze said. I thought he had one off (Coleman's) hand again that was picked, but it was the right read. I'll have to see how hard the catch was. I thought he played solid."
Heading into its second consecutive conference matchup with the Sooners making their first SEC road-trip ever, Freeze will go back to the drawing board to find the right guy to lead the offense and provide a much-needed spark for the remainder of the season.
The Tiger’s quarterbacks have combined for eight turnovers in their last two power-conference matchups. Auburn is -9 in turnover margin thus far — ranking the worst in the FBS.
“I don’t have the words,” Freeze said. “It’s sickening, sickening that we can’t take care of the football on offense, and I’ve got to get that fixed.”
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Logan Fowler is a Senior from Sumiton, Alabama and is majoring in journalism. He joined the Plainsman in Spring 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @loganffowler
