Auburn reportedly will name Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne as its starting quarterback for the 2023 season opener against UMass, as was first reported by Auburn Live and Auburn Undercover and confirmed by ESPN’s Chris Low.

Thorne had the shortest time to settle into Auburn over sophomores Robby Ashford and Holden Geriner who had both spent a year in the program already while Thorne arrived over the summer and fall camp marked his first practices with the team.

The former Spartan reportedly beat out Ashford and Geriner in a three-way quarterback battle that seemed to stretch longer than Auburn anticipated and featured more twists along the way.

At SEC Media Days, Freeze said he hoped to narrow the competition to a top two within the first five practices. But when fall camp arrived, Freeze said it may take the first 10 days.

Come Auburn’s first preseason scrimmage last Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Freeze said he thought he had narrowed down to two quarterbacks, but the quarterback play in that came cause Freeze to rethink his decision.

The next time Auburn had an open period of practice for media was Tuesday, where Auburn separated Thorne and Ashford with the rest of the projected starters while Geriner worked on the other half of the field with the expected backups.

It was the first sign of any separation among the quarterbacks before Thursday.

While Ashford and Geriner each showed flashes throughout preseason practices, Thorne’s becoming the starter would be the long-expected outcome heading into the season — even if Thorne’s first official practices with Auburn came at the beginning of August.

He transferred out of a starting job in the Big Ten with the expectation to win an open quarterback battle at Auburn when Ashford had inconsistent play last season and T.J. Finley transferred to Texas State.

During drills open to the media, Thorne was consistently the quarterback most frequently working with the other projected starters, even though Ashford and Geriner each had turns, too.

Early on during fall camp, Auburn offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery said whoever Auburn picked at quarterback didn’t have to be “Superman,” and just had to be someone who Auburn could reliably count on to get the job done with as few mistakes as possible.

Multiple of Thorne’s Auburn teammates described him as a leader during fall camp, a status that certainly came together quickly after his late arrival to campus. Running back Damari Alston said Thorne was named to Auburn’s culture council. Wide receiver Camden Brown said Thorne surprised him with his running ability.

Ashford has the most Auburn experience as the starter at the end of the 2022 season, finishing the year with 1,613 passing yards and 710 rushing yards. He struggled with accuracy, completing just 49% of his passes. He did improve as a thrower during fall camp. Geriner may have the most arm talent of the trio, but he redshirted last season and attempted three total passes.

Thorne has shown to be mostly reliable in fall camp and brings far more experience than anyone else in the quarterback room. Thorne had 26 starts for Michigan State and completed just over 60% of his passes with 49 touchdowns. He totaled 6,494 passing yards in 29 career games with the Spartans.

In 2021, Thorne’s first year as a full-time starter, Michigan State had its been season since making the College Football Playoff in 2015.

The Spartans went 11-1 that year and Thorne threw for 3,232 yards. He added almost 200 more yards with his legs. He had 27 touchdown passes against 10 interceptions. The Spartans would finish the year ranked in the top 10 and beat Pitt in the Peach Bowl.

Michigan State lost star running back Kenneth Walker III to the NFL after that season, and took a step backward in 2022.

Thorne had more completions and a higher completion percentage — a career-best 62% — in 2022, but threw for far fewer yards with the support of a strong run game. Thorne had 2,679 yards in 2022, threw for eight fewer touchdowns and one more interception than the year prior.

Michigan State went 5-7 in 2022 and Thorne transferred to Auburn after the season. But he was a late addition to the transfer portal, entering on April 30 after spring practices had already ended. He committed to Auburn on May 5.