Auburn is turning back to veteran Payton Thorne as its starting quarterback for Saturday's game against No. 21 Oklahoma, CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz reports. Thorne began the season as the starter before ceding the job to redshirt freshman Hank Brown over the past two weeks.
Thorne returned to the lineup in the second half of last week's 24-14 loss to Arkansas and led a pair of touchdown drives after Brown threw three interceptions in the first half. The results of that game suggested another change at starter was likely for the Tigers (2-2, 0-1 SEC), who rank No. 132 nationally in turnover margin at minus-10
Thorne is responsible for five of the eight interceptions Auburn has thrown season. Four of them came in a 21-14 Week 2 loss against Cal, which prompted Freeze to turn to Brown the following week. Brown, a former three-star prospect, was effective in a 45-19 Week 3 win against New Mexico's overmatched defense.
But he looked overwhelmed against SEC competition last week as the Tigers failed to score in the first half. The Tigers' early-season waffling at quarterback underscores how second-year coach Hugh Freeze has struggled to revitalize an Auburn program that is just 21-23 since parting with Gus Malzahn at the end of the 2020 season.
Though the Tigers have assembled a 2025 high school recruiting ranked No. 4 nationally by 247Sports, no quarterback is committed yet as part of the group. Other options on the current roster include sophomore Holden Geriner, a former four-star prospect, and Walker White, a true freshman who ranked as the No. 5 quarterback in the Class of 2024, per 247Sports.
