AUBURN, Ala. — Despite the rainy weather, cloudy skies, and many flags thrown during the game, the Auburn Tigers (2-1) were a ray of sunshine on homecoming weekend, as they defeated the New Mexico Lobos (0-3) 45-19 inside Jordan-Hare stadium.
After losing last week to Cal, there were many questions about the direction the Tigers would take going forward. This week against the Lobos the direction the offense is taking seems clear.
This week Head Coach Hugh Freeze changed starting quarterbacks from Peyton Thorne to Hank Brown, answering the question of who would be the starting quarterback.
On Hank Brown, Head Coach Hugh Freeze said, “Decision making is pretty good. He had a solid first game.”
Hank Brown’s first start was one of the best Auburn has seen in recent years. He threw four touchdown passes and concluded the night with 235 yards thrown on 17 completions on 25 attempts.
That’s not to say he was perfect, but after the game, “He had a couple of incompletions that were iffy and he missed a few throwing into blitzes that I would like to see him get,” Coach Freeze said.
Everyone looked excited with how the offense played from the offensive line to the running backs, the wide receivers to the tight ends, to Hank Brown himself.
“I think Hank (Brown) did good for his first start. There’s always room for improvement, but I think he did really good,” said senior running back Jarquez Hunter.
Offensive lineman Dillon Wade said, “Hank is special. I’m glad to see him progress and become a better quarterback as he proceeds through this process. I call him, ‘Hank the Tank.’”
“He balled out man. The way that he carries himself is great,” tight end Micah Riley said, “He always keeps his spirits up. I’m proud of him and can’t wait for him to ball out his next game.”
The positive reception Hank Brown got at quarterback, translated to other offensive positions as well. Five different Tigers scored a touchdown against New Mexico, and three had their first touchdown of the season (Camden Brown, Micah Riley, and Rivaldo Fairweather).
Damari Alston had the Tiger's last touchdown of the game, while Jarquez Hunter had one receiving and one rushing touchdown, and moved to No. 13 amongst Auburn career rushers.
However, with all the enthusiasm surrounding Hank Brown’s first start as Auburn’s quarterback, many may wonder how Peyton Thorne is handling being benched.
Quarterback Hank Brown said, “He’s been great. He’s awesome. He’s a leader. He does a great job of helping me out from an experience standpoint.”
“He’s handling the disappointment very well. He been a very good teammate and talked about the things he saw,” Hugh Freeze said after the game.
It shows how everyone can learn and grow from losses, and although Peyton Thorne was benched, he did his best to help Hank Brown succeed as quarterback against New Mexico.
After tonight’s performance though, one big question emerged. Who will be the starting quarterback against Arkansas?
Luckily, Hugh Freeze answered the question after tonight’s game and said, “Hank Brown will be the starter next week, and let’s see what he does as we step up another level of competition against the SEC play.”
The Auburn Tigers open SEC play at home with the Arkansas Razorbacks, on Saturday, September 21 at 2:30 pm central time on the Auburn Sports Network and ESPN.
