Hugh Freeze and the Auburn football team returned to Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday morning for the program’s second scrimmage of the fall, which, in Freeze’s eyes marks the end of fall camp.

The Tigers first came together for their opening scrimmage on Aug. 12 in a showing that left plenty to be desired. Last week, Freeze said Auburn’s wide receivers and defensive secondary didn’t bring their best stuff. The Tigers had also yet to name their starting quarterback last week.

All that, however, seemed to have changed Saturday as all the noise pointed to Auburn looking more like a well-oiled machine in their second live scrimmage — a good sign considering the UMass Minutemen will be taking Pat Dye Field in two weeks as the Tigers open the season on Sept. 2.

Here’s how Saturday’s scrimmage at Jordan-Hare shook out and what Freeze had to say about the showcase.

Payton Thorne has two-TD day

In Auburn’s first scrimmage, Freeze thought junior Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne “pressed too much”. He hoped naming Thorne the team’s starting quarterback Thursday would help alleviate some of that pressure.

And from the sounds of it, it did.

In his first scrimmage since being named Auburn’s starting quarterback, Thorne went 12-for-17 through the air with a pair of touchdowns and an interception.

“He had two really bad decisions, I thought, and then settled in and I thought played really solid,” Freeze said. “I thought he pulled a couple good quarterback runs… I thought he played solid after the first two possessions, when I thought he made two poor choices. Then he settled in and played really well.”

Meanwhile, Auburn’s pair of backup quarterbacks in sophomore Robby Ashford and redshirt freshman Holden Geriner both had solid days, Freeze said.

Ashford finished having gone 8-for-15 with a pair of touchdowns, while Geriner went 7-for-11.

“I thought we threw and caught it very well,” Freeze said.

Shane Hooks impresses

Freeze said if Hooks made the catch he did in Saturday’s scrimmage during a live game, you’d seem him on SportsCenter.

And he wasn’t lying.

Hooks made a one-handed grab in the back of the endzone, helping Thorne tally one of his two touchdown passes Saturday. Here’s a look:

“The guy made some really nice catches and runs after the catch,” Freeze said of Hooks, who caught more than one touchdown pass Saturday.. “He had a really solid day.”

Hooks, who stretches 6-foot-4, is in his first season on The Plains after transferring in from Jackson State.

And while Saturday’s showcase was surely a step in the right direction, Freeze says there’s still a little ways to go for Hooks.

“He’s a big target,” Freeze said. “I wish he played the game a little faster, we’ve gotta get him to do that. I think some of that comes from maybe not playing against the speed of this level yet.”

Freeze added that sophomore Camden Brown also had a touchdown reception Saturday — a great sign considering his constant battles with injuries this preseason.

Freshman Jeremiah Cobb leads RBs in strong rushing attack

Auburn’s running back room is the deepest its been in years. And that doesn’t bother Freeze one bit.

“That’s a great problem to have,” Freeze said. “You keep them fresh and you hope to keep pounding. You’re never going to get all of them as many carries as they want, but it’s a good problem to have.”

In Saturday’s scrimmage, true freshman Jeremiah Cobb saw the bulk of the carries, Freeze said.

As a group, however, Auburn’s running backs were a highlight from Saturday’s action, though Freeze is taking it with a grain of salt.

“A positive? We’ve been able to run the football,” Freeze said. “And if you’re able to do that, you’ve got a fighting chance.

“I’ve said this before, it’s hard for me to ever leave happy so I don’t know if that means we’re really good at running it or we’re not very good at stopping it. I don’t know. We’ll see soon. But we’ve taken care of the ball offensively and we’ve been able to run it. And the teams that I’ve coached that have been able to do that, I think they have a fighting chance.”

Defensive secondary improves, forces a turnover

Auburn’s defensive secondary was a lowlight in Auburn’s first scrimmage as Freeze said the Tigers’ defensive backfield didn’t tackle well.

Saturday, however, Auburn’s defensive backs sounded to have kicked it in gear.

“If I had to say a group that probably got a little bit better this week, it would have to be… I thought our DBs got better at tackling and guarding,” Freeze said.

Senior cornerbacks DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett were two guys who Freeze said had a strong week of practice this past week.

“I think DJ and Pritchett are practicing at a higher level,” Freeze said. “It’s really easy if you think you’re the guy — and they are — to coast. I thought they coasted some in the first week. I thought they turned it on in practice like it should be.”

On the field, it translated to the defense notching a takeaway Saturday.

“We had one turnover that was a good play by the defense,” Freeze said. “Probably a poor decision. I haven’t watched the film, but from where I was standing on Payton, it looked like the throw might’ve sailed a bit on him. It’s good to see the defense get a takeaway. That’s the only turnover we had.”