Have you heard of that? Auburn just swapped their starter ahead of Saturday’s game against New Mexico. After Auburn’s last week disaster against California, in which they faced defeat, they made some changes in the team.”There’s a very, very short leash on us playing as poorly as we did in certain moments in that game at that position,” said head coach Hugh Freeze. The coaching staff has replaced Payton Thorne with redshirt freshman quarterback Hank Brown because of his performance during the game.

Well, of course, it’s nowhere near being a piece of good news for Payton Thorne, but according to the War Rapport’s’ Mike Gittens, Freeze gave him Jalen Milroe’s benching example in the 2023 season to take notes from. “Hugh Freeze used Jalen Milroe’s benching and subsequent redemption story as an example to Payton Thorne that there may be an opportunity to bounce back,” shared Mike Gittens in his X post. Freeze referred to the 2023 season when Milroe lost against Texas, after which Nick Saban benched him before their next game against USF. Tyler Buchner took over for Milroe, who later transferred to Notre Dame in the offseason. Moving ahead, Milroe took charge of the starting spot for the SEC championship, led Alabama, and made his mark.

Gittens went on by stating what, according to Freeze, is right for the team at this moment, “but also told him (Thorne),  what’s best for the team is to give Hank Brown the start this week.” Well, if Thorne is getting compared to Milroe, that’s something he should be proud of. He can be a mentor to Brown and guide him in this new role since he has experience with it. Besides that, let’s look at Brown’s football journey, given that he has earned a starting position in his team.

Comparing Hugh Freeze’s previous QB and new QB’s football journey

Hank Brown’s football journey is nothing short of exciting. As he steps into the role of Auburn’s starting quarterback, it becomes interesting to know what he has achieved till now. Brown was a three-star prospect in the 2023 class and committed to Liberty, followed by joining Hugh Freeze’s Auburn. Brown showcased his talent by throwing nine passes and contributed with two touchdowns to Auburn’s first-week victory. What went wrong with Payton Thorne?

To be honest, Thorne’s performance was disappointing. In Auburn’s loss over California, he threw four interceptions, which led to a 21-14 loss for his team. The sum of his scores in the two games he played in the 2024 season is 27 out of 48 passes for 487 yards, along with five touchdowns and four interceptions. To overcome this issue, Huge Freeze came up with an idea to lifeguard Auburn’s current pathetic state. The game on Saturday will show how Freeze is changing Auburn’s position in the 2024 season.