In the days after he lost Auburn’s starting quarterback job to Payton Thorne, Robby Ashford questioned if he belonged here.

‘Am I good enough,” Ashford said he asked himself.

He had been Auburn’s starter to end last season. He watched Auburn brought in Thorne through the portal and watched him take his job. Ashford said he was down on himself, so much so that he thought about just giving up.

“It didn’t feel like I was good enough, had a few rough days,” Ashford said. “I was just sitting at home and almost just felt like I needed to give up.”

It’s hardly been two weeks since Auburn named Thorne as the starter on Aug. 17. And here was Ashford, leading his teammates over to the Auburn student section after a 59-14 win over UMass because those fans wanted to see him. Ashford scored three rushing touchdowns in the first half.

After the game he gave high-fives to the dozens of students calling his name, and threw his towel into the stands. That came after a performance where his speed fueled Auburn’s separation from a UMass team it was favored to win by more than 30 points.

This was cathartic for Ashford after all it took to fit in this new space. After an offseason that was an emotional roller coaster, he had his moment.

He became Redzone Robby.

In the first half, Ashford’s further touch away from the endzone was the UMass 23-yard line. He ran the ball six times for 36 yards in the first half. Three of those carries ended up as touchdowns.

“I’m like, ‘Yeah, we’re finna score,’” Ashford said of his first score. “Then I saw the end zone, saw the student section, those eyes got big. I’m like, ‘Yeah, there’s no way I’m not scoring.’”

He was the story of the game for Auburn. His role fit in with Thorne’s to give Auburn a dynamic athlete down in the tightest part of the field where throwing is complicated. Ashford even said the UMass defenders weren’t able to keep up with his speed.

What it took was Ashford to accept this part of the offense. When Thorne won the job, head coach Hugh Freeze wasn’t sure if Ashford would. It’s hard to lose a competition and shift a mindset immediately. Ashford said it took him days.

“I’m hoping that all three will handle that news extremely well and continue to work, because I believe with all my heart Robby Ashford gives us an absolute better chance to win the game if he accepts this news and continues to work and develops himself, because he might be the most freakish athlete I’ve ever had at quarterback,” Freeze said after naming Thorne the starter.

And for the two weeks since that press conference, Freeze continued to emphasize Ashford would have a role in the offense. He just didn’t state what it would be.

“I have said Robby Ashford is vital to us winning football games,” Freeze said after beating UMass. “I don’t know how else to say it. He is vital to us winning football games. I don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like from week to week, but he’s vital to us winning football games and we need him.”

Auburn showed to have a stellar running game all around, even in the absence of starter Jarquez Hunter. Auburn did not state why Hunter was absent. Auburn had 289 rushing yards and scored six of eight touchdowns in the win on the ground.

Ashford’s role on Saturday was as a redzone runner. To be dynamic and get into the endzone from nearby. It worked.

Ashford just had to work to the point of accepting it.

“Who knows if I’ll start this year? But I’ve just gotta prepare like I’m gonna be the starter,” Ashford said.

Part of accepting that role too means handling the label that gets put on quarterbacks who primarily run the ball: that instead of being a quarterback, he’s just a running back who can occasionally throw.

That’s been another mental battle he’s faced. Ashford feels he’s improved as a thrower and his coaches would agree. Freeze said Ashford had his best practices of the fall after Thorne was named the starter — both with his arms and legs.

But it’s Ashford’s legs that make him valuable, and he knows that. So he said he doesn’t care if people call him a running back.

“I mean, it was hard, but now, just knowing, ‘OK, I have the threat of my legs — don’t be afraid to use it because of what people are gonna say about me,’” Ashford said. “At the end of the day, I know I’m a quarterback. Coach Freeze believes that I’m a quarterback, and this whole team does. Whatever anybody else has to say, I don’t look at it. I think God blessed me with an ability to be able to use my legs. I mean, he blessed me with that. I can’t help that.”

Exactly how Ashford will be used may change from week to week. Redzone Robby is clearly a dynamic piece of Auburn’s offense, but Freeze seemed to indicate that his packages may not always be consistent.

At this point, because he’s not Auburn’s starter, Ashford just wants to play.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]