Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze gave football fans high hopes for the 2024 season. Unfortunately, the offensive production as a whole was lackluster. However, certain players stood out this season.
Hugh tied himself to quarterback Payton Thorne; that came with highs and lows, including a benching at one point. Yet, the running game excelled for the most part, and the wide receiver group significantly improved from last year. The tight ends were mainly a non-factor and the offensive line had its moments.
Yet where does the Auburn offense stand? Let’s find out.
Auburn Football: 2024 Offensive Grades
Quarterback: C-
Payton Thorne was the starting quarterback for Auburn for 10 out of their 12 games (he entered the game in relief of Hank Brown against Arkansas). He totaled 2713 passing yards with 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions. However, he threw four of those against Cal in Week 2 and was benched the following week.
As a rusher, Thorne had 112 carries for 283 yards and two touchdowns. His longest rush was a 31-yard scamper against Alabama A&M.
If you look statistically, Thorne had an average season, with his biggest game coming against Texas A&M, where he was a key part in the four-overtime win. However, Thorne’s biggest problem all year was decision-making. He would consistently audible at the line into plays that ran straight into the defense (usually calling his own number) instead of getting the ball to any one of his playmakers’ hands.
Behind Thorne was Hank Brown, who played in three games for the Auburn Tigers football program in 2024. His final stat line was 403 passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions (all against Arkansas).
Brown gave Auburn fans early hope that the season could still be turned around after Thorne’s poor performances. That hope came crashing down against Arkansas, when Brown threw three interceptions in the first half. That would be the death blow to Brown’s season, as Freeze and company decided that it was time to return to Thorne and not turn back.
Overall, the quarterback play for Auburn was a large part of why they ended up 5-7 and 13th in the SEC.
Running Backs: A-
The running backs, led by Jarquez Hunter, were easily the best position group for the Auburn offense in 2024. Hunter consistently improved in his Auburn career, with his best season being his final season.
The fifth-year senior totaled 1201 rushing yards on 187 carries with eight rushing touchdowns. He also totaled his most receptions in his career with 21, for 155 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Behind Hunter was junior running back Damari Alston. Alston tallied 52 carries for 276 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The junior served as the primary backup for Hunter, and was third on the team in carries in 2024. He did not add much in the receiving game, but looks to be the replacement for Hunter in 2025.
Jeremiah Cobb was the third-string back for Auburn, and had 29 carries for 142 yards. Cobb was able to add his explosiveness to the game as a returner, and looks to do the same in 2025 while competing for the starting running back job.
Wide Receivers: B+
Wide receiver was the clear weakness of the 2023 Auburn football team, and that position group was easily the most-improved for 2024.
A lot of the blame was put on Thorne for the Auburn offense this year. While that is fair, there were multiple occasions where a wide receiver was hit in the hands and they dropped the ball, leading to an interception. These mistakes seemed to be fixed later on in the season, especially from freshman phenom Cam Coleman, but they still significantly impacted Auburn’s offense.
The leader in the pack was transfer senior KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who totaled 981 yards on 50 catches with eight touchdowns. He ended up with a top-10 season in Auburn, and despite being there for one year, embodied being an Auburn man. He is now entering the 2025 NFL draft.
The aforementioned Coleman showed off his athletic ability time and again with acrobatic catches throughout the season. Early on, he had drops that were concerning and lead to interceptions. However, he fixed that as the year went on.
Coleman finished his freshman campaign with 37 catches for 598 yards and eight touchdowns. This was capped with three stellar performances where he totaled 22 catches, 306 yards and six touchdowns against ULM, Texas A&M and Alabama. He will be leaned on next year to be a leader in this wide receiver room.
Third in the clubhouse for Auburn is another freshman phenom in Malcolm Simmons. Simmons is explosive with game-breaking speed at all times. He finished the year with 40 receptions, 451 yards and three touchdowns. Simmons also spent time on special teams, and returned a punt for a touchdown. Simmons will have to step into an even bigger role next year. Auburn should look at how they can use him more creatively in the offense.
Meanwhile, highly touted transfer wide receiver Robert Lewis finished the year with 16 receptions and 155 yards. While that stat line was not expected, Lewis did come up with some huge catches in clutch moments that allowed the offense to keep moving. His veteran presence will be missed.
Finally, Perry Thompson was another stellar freshman recruit who did not get a lot of playing time this year. However, with Lewis and Lambert-Smith leaving, his impact will likely be felt next year. When he did play, Thompson was explosive.
He tallied 126 receiving yards on only five catches and one touchdown. His deep threat ability will continue to be felt next year.
Tight Ends: B-
Auburn had four tight ends that received playing time and at least one catch. However, the main tight end was Rivaldo Fairweather whose presence will be missed next year.
Fairweather, a fifth-year senior, was the leading receiver for Auburn in 2023 with 394 yards and six touchdowns and was desperately needed that year. He technically regressed in 2024, but that was due to the added talent around him that was non-existent the year prior. Fairweather ended 2024 with 31 receptions, 372 receiving yards and two touchdowns with his best game coming in the loss to Vanderbilt.
Brandon Frazier and Luke Deal are also both seniors leaving only Micah Riley for 2025 and beyond from the current roster.
Offensive Line: C-
Auburn’s offensive line has had good individual players for the last five years, but overall has been under-recruited and underdeveloped by previous coaching regimes. While the recruiting is improving, the play still has not completely turned around.
Auburn allowed 27 sacks this year, losing 179 yards over the season. On average, the unit allowed about 2.25 sacks per game. That ranked 85th nationally, so maybe a C- isn’t harsh enough.
The biggest issue with this position group has honestly been its lack of depth – which is being fixed in recruiting. Auburn’s offensive line will have to improve in 2025 for the team to improve at all.
Overall, this season was a failure compared to expectations in the preseason. Auburn improved in talent and had the opportunity with their schedule to win more games than they lost. However, they finished the 2024 season with more losses than wins and missed out on bowl eligibility. This falls on the head coach and his unwillingness to change quarterbacks sooner than he did and continue to look toward the future. Next season will be very important for coach Freeze and the future of Auburn football.
