Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne had hardly settled into his seat at the player’s podium at SEC Media Days in Dallas on Thursday when a reporter asked him the question he knew was coming.

After softening his question with the reminder that Thorne had once thrown 27 touchdown passes in a season at Michigan State and that Auburn had reloaded its corps of receivers during the offseason, the reporter finally got to the point:

“Do you anticipate having a better year?,” the reporter asked, silently indicating that no one had forgotten how Auburn’s passing offense struggled in 2023.

But Thorne didn’t need reminded. He didn’t just watch the Tigers stumble around on offense all last season — he lived it. So when asked if he “anticipated a better year” in 2024, the question didn’t catch him off guard and Thorne didn’t miss a beat when answering.

“No question,” Thorne quickly replied.

But how could Auburn’s incumbent starting quarterback be so sure?

For Thorne, it starts with not having been thrown to the wolves and having a full offseason under his belt this go ‘round.

Thorne transferred to Auburn in May of 2023, meaning he’d missed spring camp and only had the summer and fall camp to find his footing.

“Last year getting here in the middle of summer, obviously that’s not ideal going into a new offense, a new team, a new atmosphere,” Thorne said. “Everything was different last year, so figuring that out in three months before the season started is not exactly easy.”

Now, more than a year removed from his move to The Plains, Thorne says he feels settled into his own house — from the facilities to his coaches and teammates.

“You’re just familiar with everything. So, yeah, there’s no doubt there’s going to be more confidence that comes with that,” Thorne said. “I think that good things are coming because of that.”

Of course, like the reporter pointed out, there are the well-documented additions to Auburn’s wide receiver corps, too.

The Tigers added seven wide receivers during the offseason: four true freshmen from a brilliant signing class and three others from the transfer portal.

And Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze senses that Thorne has a greater confidence in his current pass-catching options than he did last fall.

“I think he feels like he can turn it loose sometimes and have a chance to win,” Freeze said of Thorne during SEC Media Days on Thursday.

When asked about Freeze’s comments, Thorne agreed and offered additional insight into how guys like Cam Coleman, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Robert Lewis have won his confidence.

“There’s more detail. You know, it’s get to 12 yards — not nine — it’s 12. So get to 12 yards. It times up better with my footwork and we take the right release. Get there, put your foot in the ground and it’s a quick 1-2-3, turn around and I’m there,” Thorne explained, seemingly indicating that some of last year’s receivers weren’t as keen on the finer details.

“There is a lot more confidence right now. I trust the guys that are out there. They’re making plays on the ball and ultimately it comes down to actually doing it. You have to do it in practice before all of a sudden you get trust in the game.”

Similarly, a two-way street of confidence is also impacting Thorne’s relationship with Freeze.

Despite being named the starting quarterback ahead of the 2023 season, it really wasn’t until midway through the season that Thorne seemed to have complete ownership of the offense as he and former Auburn quarterback Robby Ashford spent the first half of the year sharing snaps.

The funky rotation would’ve left any quarterback wondering if his head coach really had as much confidence in him as he led on.

In late September of last year, Freeze even mentioned to reporters that he and his staff needed to try to be better about instilling confidence in their starting quarterback.

Meanwhile, all offseason Freeze has maintained his swelling confidence in Thorne, even turning a blind eye to some of the quarterback talent the transfer portal saw during the offseason.

And Thorne is reaping the benefits.

“At the quarterback position… your coach having your back is huge, to be honest with you,” Thorne said. “To hear those things from Coach Freeze is awesome. I feel like me and him are really on the same page right now.”

And that comes from everyone on the offensive staff being on the same page, Freeze says — something that might not have been the case last season with Philip Montgomery serving as Auburn’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Shortly after the the conclusion of Auburn’s 2023 season, Freeze announced that Montgomery would be relieved of his duties and the Tigers would be looking for a new offensive coordinator.

Since then, Freeze has hired Derrick Nix as Auburn’s offensive coordinator and promoted Kent Austin as the Tigers’ quarterbacks coach, leaving Freeze surrounded by two coaches he’s previously coached with.

“Every single person in that offensive room has been with me before and the entire verbiage is back to where I’m very comfortable,” Freeze said Thursday. “And I honestly think that that has bred confidence into Payton. I think he senses that there’s a chemistry in that room now that maybe he didn’t sense that last year.”

Should Thorne come out of the tunnel in 2024 and look like a totally different quarterback, it wouldn’t be the first time it happened.

A pair of former LSU quarterbacks in Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels both showed the difference having a full offseason at a program can make. As did Bo Nix at Oregon.

While that’s not to say Thorne will end up being a Heisman Trophy contender in 2024, it simply points to the possibility of he and Auburn’s offense taking a big step forward this fall.

And according to Thorne, that possibility isn’t unfounded.

“My confidence comes from the preparation that we’ve put in,” Thorne said. “I think it’s been a really good offseason.”