Hugh Freeze was cautious when answering questions about the starting quarterback job Monday, but when asked if a change was possible, he didn’t rule it out.

“Could it? Yes,” Freeze said when asked if the starter could be changed before Saturday.

He followed that up by saying he wanted to see how the week goes before making a final decision.

After Saturday’s loss to Cal, questions undoubtedly arose about the future at quarterback after starter Payton Thorne threw four interceptions.

When first asked about a potential change, Freeze said it’s “really hard for me not to play a young guy who is consistently the best player in practice.” Even so, he mentioned that the good play must be translated into games.

“If that continues, we’ve got to go a different direction,” Freeze said of Thorne’s performance against Cal.

Saturday also wasn’t Thorne’s first poor performance for Auburn since joining the program and becoming the starter at the start of last season.

Thorne threw for under 2,000 yards in 2023, and in 10 games against Power 4 opponents, he only threw for 100 yards or more in five of them. Freeze stuck with Thorne entering the 2024 season, chose not to sign a quarterback from the transfer portal and decided not to give a chance to Hank Brown, Holder Geriner or true freshman Walker White.

Freeze said poor performances like last Saturday start with the coaching staff, but also credited the play, despite the offense’s struggles.

“There were some really good calls made in that game. And we had people running wide open,” Freeze said. “Payton missed three of those that I think changed the game in the first half.”

Now, after another poor performance from Thorne and an unexpected Week 2 lossthe chance may come for Brown.

“Hank will definitely get his share of reps this week, for sure,” Freeze said Monday.

Brown, a redshirt freshman, hasn’t seen much action since arriving on campus before last season.

His only playing time last season came in Auburn’s Music City Bowl loss to Maryland where he was 7-of-9 passing for 132 yards. He saw action late in Auburn’s season-opening 73-3 win against Alabama A&M, throwing two touchdown passes on 3-of-5 passing for 96 yards.

Brown has played well in every opportunity he has had in the game. Although he hasn’t faced any high-pressure situations yet, there is reason to be optimistic about the redshirt freshman’s ability.

The rest of the week will tell if a change is made immediately or not, but Freeze has made it clear that Thorne’s in-game performance must matter, and performances like Saturday’s could force his hand.

“It’s now at a point where it can’t just be the execution in practice that matters,” Freeze said. “We’re going to have to have that going into the game, which I’ve seen evidence of. But you’ve also had some of those that just make you scratch your head and say, ‘What are we doing?'”

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him at X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m