Quarterback play was one of the hottest topics during Auburn’s first three losses of the season.

Both Payton Thorne and Hank Brown have made starts and the two combined for nine interceptions over the course of the first three losses.

Brown started two games after Thorne was benched following the loss to Cal, but hasn’t played since throwing three first-half interceptions against Arkansas and getting benched at halftime.

Six of the nine interceptions were by Thorne, with four coming against Cal. Since the Cal game, Thorne has been solid, but a couple mistakes in key moments hurt Auburn against Oklahoma and Georgia.

Against Oklahoma, Thorne played one of his best games at Auburn, but threw a pick-six late in the fourth quarter that gave the Sooners the lead. On Saturday against Georgia, Freeze said Thorne “absolutely didn’t go with what he had called” on a late fourth down play where Auburn was stopped.

Despite the mistakes at times, Freeze isn’t out on Thorne as Auburn’s starter.

“I think he’s been pretty solid the last few weeks. I wish we were better in critical situations,” Freeze said Monday at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in Birmingham. “He is a thinker, and he has good reasons why he does what he does for sure. And we’ve just got to make sure we’re always on the same page, particularly on those critical downs.”

When asked specifically if he was considering changing quarterbacks, Freeze said, “not right now.”

Through four starts, Thorne has 1,238 yards and 10 passing touchdowns on the season, compared to six interceptions. He’s also Auburn’s third-leading rusher with 147 yards and two touchdowns.

At the halfway point of the season, Thorne is only 517 passing yards away from his 2023 total. There has been an overall improvement in Thorne’s production in 2024, but turnovers remain an issue.

Despite that, Freeze seems to have his mind made up on the direction Auburn will go at quarterback this season.

“I think he’s giving it to this team physically. He’s doing some nice things, and we didn’t protect him very well Saturday and he used his legs effectively and I think his play has been really solid the last two weeks,” Freeze said.

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