The Auburn Tigers came into the clash against Arkansas with plenty of hope, in particular starting quarterback Hank Brown.
However, the tides quickly turned for Brown after the quarterback gave a quote about how he would ‘dominate’ the Razorbacks. The quarterback threw three interceptions and was quickly thrown onto the bench in favor of former starter Payton Thorne.
Thorne started for the Tigers in two games before being benched in favor of Brown for the game against New Mexico. The Tigers lost 21-14 to the Cal Golden Bears and announced days later that Thorne would be benched. The freshman Brown was the man the Auburn Tigers staff announced would take over for Thorne moving forward, barring a bad performance.
The quarterback was subject to massive pushback on social media from both analysts and Tigers fans alike. Thorne went as far as to claim that fans would send monetary requests to the quarterback on Venmo for ‘lost bets’ on the athlete and team. Thorne was once a starter for Michigan State Spartans before transferring and playing for the Tigers last season
Brown started against New Mexico and shined as the offense seemed to truly click with the quarterback leading.
Auburn QB Hank Brown was excited to dominate Arkansas today
He just threw 3 picks in the first half and got benched pic.twitter.com/x3AZ6OLYex
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 21, 2024
Brown felt particularly confident himself as he stated during an interview with ESPN, “I’m excited for SEC play and I’m excited to dominate Arkansas.” After his pre-game quote about his recent performance and the game against Arkansas, Brown threw three interceptions in the first-half of play without recording any points on offense.
The quarterback was ultimately benched, but Thorne has performed no better either, tossing an interception of his own.
Auburn Tigers Bench QB Hank Brown During Three Interception Performance
While Brown was supremely confident heading into the game, the quarterback felt much differently during the game.
The first interception for Brown truly opened the flood gates as the quarterback looked uncomfortable in the pocket the rest of the game. Brown struggled to do much of anything and did not even cross 80-yards in the air for the Tigers before hitting the bench.
I don’t wanna rub salt in the wound Auburn fans. But it might be time to give Payton Thorne a look
Hank Brown is rattled
— Nick Perkins (@NickyPerkss) September 21, 2024
The Auburn Tigers offense has looked like two completely different teams throughout this season between a 73-3 win over Alabama A&M and a tough performance against Cal.
Auburn is still trying to find their identity on offense, but it seems to change each week as the staff continues to make changes. While Thorne and Brown have both had success and struggles, one of them should be the quarterback through thick and thin moving forward.
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