(Photo by Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire)
Entering 2024 in not only the second year of the Hugh Freeze era but year two of the Payton Thorne era as well, things had to change for the Auburn Tigers’ passing attack. The product that the offense put on the field in 2023 was flat out not good enough to win anything significant.
Naturally, Thorne took a lot of the blame for that, fair or unfair, because he is the quarterback. But it was apparent to anyone who watched the team that the lack of any sort of dynamic playmakers on offense put Thorne in a tough position from the start.
Freeze decided to give him another shot this season, and while it was just one game against Alabama A&M, Thorne looked significantly more comfortable throwing to a virtually completely new group of pass catchers.
Penn State transfer wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith caught two touchdowns in the first quarter and looked even better than advertised. But to no one’s surprise, much of the attention went to the young freshmen making plays in their first game in Auburn uniforms.
Of Thorne’s four first half touchdown passes, two of them went to the team’s highly touted freshmen, Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson. Then in the second half, after Thorne had already exited, two more newcomers caught touchdowns in Malcolm Simmons, another freshman, and Sam Jackson, a transfer from California.
It’s hard to take a ton away from a 70-point beatdown against an FCS opponent in week one, but the talent level in the wide receiver room on paper is significantly higher this season than it was in 2023.
Seeing some of that talent take the reigns and start to show why they were brought in right away has to be an encouraging sign for Auburn fans as the Tigers try to get things going on offense this season.
