Auburn’s Freeze bullish on possible 2-QB system

Pete Thamel, ESPNJul 18, 2023, 05:51 PM ET

NASHVILLE — When Hugh Freeze took over at Ole Miss in 2012, the Rebels had lost 15 straight SEC games. They made a bowl in his first season and began an upward trajectory that included an appearance in the Peach Bowl in his third season.

As he takes over at Auburn more than a decade later, Freeze faces both ambiguity at the quarterback position and uncertainty that he’ll be able to elevate the Auburn program on a similarly quick timeline.

Freeze told ESPN on Tuesday that Auburn could end up playing two quarterbacks at times this season, as incumbent Robby Ashford and Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne are expected to battle for the starting position.

“Do I think it’s possible to play two and win?” Freeze said. “I do, actually, if they handle it the right way. Someone is going to have to be the starter. And someone is going to be the guy you depend on in the fourth quarter.”

Ashford started nine times for the Tigers last season after transferring from Oregon, going 3-6 over those games. Thorne hasn’t practiced yet for Auburn after leaving Michigan State, but he is a proven commodity with 26 career starts and a 16-10 record.

Ashford, a dynamic athlete who played baseball while at Oregon, profiles more as a dual-threat quarterback. Thorne is more of a pure drop-back passer who doesn’t offer a significant threat in the run game.

“Robby Ashford can help us win games,” Freeze said. “He is the most freakish athlete I have ever had at quarterback. Can he be the quarterback? I don’t know yet. But can we use him to help us win games? There’s no doubt in my mind if he handles the competition.”

Freeze acknowledged that the quarterback position will be the key to a turnaround. Auburn is coming off back-to-back losing seasons, with head coach Bryan Harsin being fired in October last year after starting 3-5.

Freeze said it’d be easy to assume he could juice up a program with a national title pedigree like Auburn as fast as he did at Ole Miss but that things have changed since he arrived in Oxford more than a decade ago.

“My initial reaction would be, ‘Well, dang, surely it’s easier to flip Auburn,'” he said. “But I think the league’s gotten better than it was then. And so I’m fearful to say it just seems like everybody’s better. I probably caught that job at the right time where some people were down.”

Freeze said he’s curious how big the gap is between Auburn and the SEC powers, as the best players in the portal are heading to the bold-faced name destinations around the league.

“It’s scary,” Freeze said of the gap. “And I know I’ve improved [the roster]. But is it enough to go out and compete against Alabama in Georgia in year one, or LSU? I don’t know.”