Auburn QB Thorne making adjustment to Saturdays down South
Last spring, Payton Thorne decided to take an ambitious road trip.
Longtime friend Jayden Reed was holding his NFL Draft party in Miami. Thorne and Reed were teammates at both Naperville Central High School and Michigan State, so naturally, he had to be there.
"I was going to do a road trip with two of my other friends from Michigan State and then they had a last-minute thing where they had to bail," Thorne said in a phone interview. "So I looked at the flights and they were crazy expensive for some reason.
"I was like, 'You know what, I'm just going to drive it.' Everyone said I was crazy for doing that, but it worked out."
Reed was chosen by Green Bay in the second round, and on his drive back north, Thorne decided to make a stop in Auburn, Ala. and found a new home.
"I entered the (transfer) portal on a Sunday. Within an hour, I was here," Thorne said. "I pretty much knew right then and there that I was going to be coming and I announced it a couple days later."
That's how Thorne landed at his new school. He's thrown for over 1,200 yards this season, set a new career-high in rushing yards and led the Tigers to a respectable 5-4 record.
Not many players from the Chicago area make it down to SEC Country. Thorne is the lone Illinois native on the Auburn roster. After spending four years in the Big Ten, what's it like?
"Obviously, the slogan is, 'It means more down here.' I would say I can feel that for sure," Thorne said. "I think the element of not having pro sports down here definitely plays into that. So people just love college football and I love that. I've always grown up loving college football myself. The support here from Auburn has been outstanding."
Thorne admitted he doesn't have much to report about the vibe on campus because he's taking his classes online. When not at home, he's usually at the football building or dining hall.
"It's November 6 and it's 75 degrees down here, so that would be a huge difference for me growing up in Chicago," he said. "I don't know what it is at home, but my guess would be like 20 degrees. People down here are throwing on their puffer jackets when it's 55 and I'm still feeling good out at practice, so that's been funny."
Thorne got a vote of confidence from Hugh Freeze a couple of weeks ago. The Tigers had been using a random QB rotation of Thorne and Robby Ashford for a while. In the past two weeks, victories over Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, Thorne has taken all of the snaps.
"I believe Payton's skillsets are the most prepared for what we're doing," Freeze said. "When you talk about playing with tempo, setting our protections, throwing accuracy and understanding coverages, I think he's the farthest along in that."
Auburn has had a couple of near misses this season, particularly a 27-20 home loss to No. 1 Georgia on Sept. 30. The Bulldogs tallied the go-ahead touchdown with 2:52 left.
"Our fans were electric all game," Thorne said. "I'd say it's tied for if not the loudest I've ever heard a stadium. It was a lot of fun getting to play in front of fans like that."
He thought a 2021 game at Ohio State shared the title of loudest stadium, with an honorable mention going to a pandemic 2020 contest at Penn State, which had no fans, but really loud piped-in noise. There may be a new list-topper in two weeks, though, when Auburn hosts No. 8 Alabama at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Thorne grew up around college football, since his father Jeff coached at North Central College from 2002-21. He resigned as North Central's head coach and spent a year as offensive coordinator at Western Michigan. Now Jeff is taking the year off from coaching to attend Auburn games.
"He's really enjoying just being able to be a dad," Payton said. "I know he misses coaching in a lot of ways, but he's also enjoying the time he has to come to our games."
Thanks to the COVID rules, Thorne has another year of eligibility left and is planning to return to Auburn. Do any Southern traditions stand out so far?
"Buc-ee's (an enormous convenience store) is awesome, definitely a positive down here," Thorne said. "Waffle House is definitely an experience. Other than that, I don't know. I like some good sweet tea."
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