It happened during Payton Thorne and Cam Coleman’s final throwing session over the summer.

Coleman, a former five-star wide receiver prospect and the gem of Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class, messed up.

Whether it was the way he ran his route or him not making a catch he thought he should’ve, Coleman messed up. And it dug at the rookie receiver.

“He got really, really pissed off,” Thorne recalled. “And I’m like, man, I freaking love that.”

Coleman’s approach reminds Thorne about himself when he was younger and making similar mistakes.

“I just enjoy playing with him so much because I see in him a lot of my younger self and how pissed off I used to get if I messed something up that I knew and stuff like that,” Thorne told reporters Tuesday.

It all boils down to having the mentality of a true competitor.

“Cam is an awesome guy. I really enjoy playing with him and enjoy just hanging out with him, honestly. I feel like we’re very like-minded,” Thorne said. “He’s a competitor and that’s probably what I like most about him, honestly”

Earlier in August, Thorne drew comparisons between Coleman and former Michigan State and Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman — and no, not just because they share the same last name and both line up at wide receiver.

“There’s a lot of similarities,” Thorne said of Auburn’s Coleman and the recent Buffalo Bills draftee, who was a teammate of Thorne’s at Michigan State.

While Thorne believes Cam is faster than Keon, he says Keon was a bit bigger than Cam is.

Thorne says the two have similarities in the way they play, too, which doesn’t come as a surprise since Cam has said he’s studied some of Keon’s film.

And when it comes to their mental approach to the game, Thorne says that’s similar too.

“I think Keon had an elite mindset and I think Cam does too,” Thorne said.

“He works his butt off, he wants to beheld accountable and he wants to get better,” Thorne said of Cam Coleman. “And the guys that I’ve been around in my career, those are the guys that go the farthest, play the longest and make the most money, to be honest with you.”