Those living in the Auburn area would agree with Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze when he says there’s been some real windy days on The Plains as of late.
With that, of course, comes “tough situations to throw in,” Freeze said Tuesday afternoon during his second press conference of spring camp.
However, Freeze’s biggest takeaway from Auburn’s quarterback room isn’t rooted in accuracy issues or anything else that might be affected by windy conditions.
“We’ve had a couple of practices where the wind was like tough, tough, tough situations to throw in,” Freeze said. “But, I think we’ve got to improve just our decision-making has not been exactly what I want it to be just yet.”
The Tigers’ room of quarterbacks is a mixed bag in terms of experience.
Payton Thorne, Auburn’s incumbent starter, is entering his fifth season of college football.
After him, it drops off considerably.
Sophomore Holden Geriner is next in line in terms of seniority, followed by redshirt freshman Hank Brown and then of course true freshman Walker White.
“Payton’s have been pretty good,” Freeze said of Thorne’s decision-making. “The other three are, you know, there is new to a lot of them. They’re getting thrown into the fire against a lot of different looks that our defense is presenting.”
And Freeze’s comments were supported during the media’s viewing opportunity during Tuesday’s practice.
While all four quarterbacks took reps in individual, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, Thorne appeared to be most comfortable — which, of course, should be the case.
“Payton is still the most consistent probably and should be,” Freeze said of Thorne. “He’s had the most reps and the most understanding of what defenses can do to you.”
Taking snaps from the 35-yard line on the positive side of the field, Thorne found true freshman Cam Coleman and junior Camden Brown for touchdowns. Brown’s touchdown was an acrobatic one as he beat out sophomore Kayin Lee for a 50-50 ball in the endzone.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, it’s easy to see that White is still trying to grasp a lot of what’s being thrown at him.
During Tuesday’s practice, you could sense a bit of hesitancy from the early enrollee when going through pass plays. There were a few overthrows from White, but he also tossed a few good balls — one being to sixth-year tight end Luke Deal across the middle and another to true freshman Bryce Cain near the right sideline.
Tuesday’s practice was pretty on par for the freshman based off what Freeze said hours prior during his press conference.
“Walker is obviously swimming,” Freeze said. “Everything’s brand new to him, but boy, shows flashes — as does Hank (Brown) and Holden (Geriner) too at times.”
Nonetheless, some of the decision-making aside, Freeze says he’s been pleased with the way Auburn’s quarterbacks are approaching the spring, which also features the installation of a new offense with first-year offensive coordinator Derrick Nix in the fold.
“I love the way they’re approaching it. They can’t get enough meeting time. They want to learn. They want to be effective at it,” Freeze said. “We’ve got some improvement to do there, but fairly pleased to this point, really, with all four of them.”