How And When Will Auburn's Quarterback Depth Chart Finalize?

Like any other college football team, the Auburn Tigers need quality depth at the quarterback position.

Payton Thorne is the starter heading into the 2024 season but he’s a fifth-year senior transfer from Michigan State playing his last season of college football. If he’s injured this season the Tigers need a quality player to step in and it would also be great if a player gains playing time to prepare for the 2025 quarterback race.

That point begs the question, who is Auburn’s definitive No. 2 quarterback?

Going by Saturday’s scrimmage, most Auburn fans believe the passing game can take a step forward with the influx of freshmen receivers led by Cam Coleman . That does not mean the scrimmage gives definitive evidence that there’s a clearcut #1 backup to Thorne.

Junior Holden Geriner came out with the second team unit. Later in the scrimmage the players mixed and matched, including quarterbacks. More on that below.

Geriner had some nice throws and navigated the rush at times. It should not be considered a top performance, however. In fact, his first drive includes being sacked during the first play and having a pass to the flat broken up.

For a breakdown of the plays from Saturday’s scrimmage, click HERE .

The other likely option to compete for the second spot would be redshirt freshman Hank Brown . He’s the signal-caller who came in for Thorne during the Music City Bowl. From that game, Brown’s statistics include going 7 of 9, 77.8%, 132 yards, 14.7 yards per play, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. Moving to the scrimmage, it's still unclear where Brown stands.

Like Geriner, Brown’s scrimmage should be considered nothing to make him the frontrunner to start if Thorne succumbs to injury or if Hugh Freeze wants to jumpstart the offense with the backup.

He had his moments. Some nice throws to Bryce Cain and Malcolm Simmons included. He did have a few poorly thrown passes as Auburn Daily’s Lance Dawe mentions during his wrapup article. Here’s a quote that shows some concern.

“Brown throws ball all the way behind Cain on screen out of bounds, called a backward pass, big loss.”

Those are the kinds of plays that get teams beat. If that pass stays in bounds perhaps it is a scoop-and-score situation for the defense. There’s one more option.

If a person likes a hulking quarterback behind center, say hello to Walker White . The true freshman looks the part and then some. He’s still learning the speed of an SEC defense and coach Freeze sometimes brings that up during press conferences. That’s normal.

It’s more likely that White begins to ascend up the depth chart next spring. His first season on the Plains should be about soaking up the offense and feeling more comfortable with his teammates during practice.

Overall, it’s not yet clear which quarterback will back up Thorne, nor how or when it will be decided. That’s an important factor for Freeze and his offensive staff to figure out as the Tigers move closer to hosting Alabama A&M on Aug. 31.