Hugh Freeze: 'Couldn't bring myself' to spend $1 million on transfer portal QB

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Hugh Freeze made a risky decision this offseason. After getting mediocre quarterback play in 2023

“The options that you’re presented with: develop Payton, develop Holden, develop Hank, develop Walker or go spend a million dollars on this guy, I just couldn’t bring myself to doing that, because I wanted to put all the pieces together,” Freeze said on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.

The Payton referenced above is Payton Thorne, a Michigan State transfer who struggled in his first season on the Plains. He completed 61.1 percent of his 265 attempts for 1,755 yards (6.6 per attempt) with 16 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. In Auburn’s seven losses, Thorne was 70-of-133 (52.6 percent) for 651 yards (4.89 per attempt) with three touchdowns against four interceptions. Remove the New Mexico State game, and he was 55-of-114 for 503 yards with two and four — an 84.1 rating. As it was, Thorne’s 129.14 rating was 73rd nationally and his 6.6 yards per attempt average was 83rd.

There’s an opportunity cost to spending $1 million — if that proved to be the real number — on a transfer quarterback. Thorne undoubtedly leaves (some Auburn fans likely rejoice at the thought, but clearly Freeze disagrees) but, depending on who Auburn hypothetically brings in, sophomore Holden Geriner, redshirt freshman Hank Brown, and/or true freshman Walker White may leave as well.

And if Auburn is spending $1 million on a new quarterback, that’s a $1 million it can’t spend to upgrade the roster elsewhere. The Tigers brought in 14 transfers, including Penn State’s leading receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Georgia State’s leading receiver Robert Lewis, and signed the nation’s 10th-ranked recruiting class, led by 5-star receiver Cam Coleman.

I’m not here to say Auburn used the unspent $1 million to bring in those guys and others; I’m just stating potentially connected facts.

“I’ve watched his Michigan State stuff 1,000 times, he had two NFL receivers and he was pretty danged good,” Freeze said. “There’s a lot of things that should be 50-50 balls and you’ve got to have a guy that can do that. I think Dre Lambert, he’s a 50-50 pass-catcher. And obviously we’re excited about the ones we signed.”

Freeze didn’t rule out dropping a bag on a quarterback in the future, however.

“Now I’m not saying I won’t do that in time. But just currently I think the guy’s proven.”

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.