There were few bigger stories entering the 2023 Auburn football season than head coach Hugh Freeze’s attempt at roster construction.

Auburn brought in around 40 new faces between transfers and freshmen. So many transfers have already seen the field this season, and many of them are in prominent positions.

The bye week is here now, and it’s a good time to do some early evaluation.

So here is the AL.com bye week report card for all the transfers as they have now had five games to get a grasp of the Auburn system.

QB Payton Throne

Grade: C-

Thorne is going to be the most dissected player on this Auburn team and for good reason as the starting quarterback. By this point, five games into the season, Thorne hasn’t necessarily been bad, but he also certainly hasn’t been good.

Thorne has been fairly effective as a runner, especially within the hedges of Jordan-Hare Stadium. Thorne rushed for 123 yards against Samford, the most by any Auburn quarterback in a decade. He added another 92 yards on the ground against Georiga last week. Pro Football Focus grades him as one of the better running quarterbacks in the nation.

He’s also been completely ineffective as a passer.

Thorne is yet to throw for 100 yards against a Power 5 opponent. The passing game struggles aren’t entirely his fault. He hasn’t consistently had reliable protection or reliable wide receiver play.

But he consistently made poor decisions throwing the ball throughout all five of Auburn’s five games whether they were missed reads, overthrows or just failing to execute.

The Texas A&M game was especially bad, including Thorne holding onto the ball for far too long leading to sacks.

Thorne has been the best of Auburn’s quarterbacks, but he also hasn’t looked the part of an unquestioned starter.

RB Brian Battie

Grade: B

The role is small, but Battie has impressed when he’s been on the field. A shoulder injury to Damari Alston has increased his playing time. He’s had his two best games of the season over the last two weeks and for a player so small, has been surprisingly nimble in between the tackles.

Battie has also been dynamic as a kick returner. He’s came within one or two tackles of returning a kickoff for a touchdown several times this season.

WR Jyarie Shorter

Grade: D-

Shorter is listed as a starter on Auburn’s depth chart. He was expected to be a big play threat for Auburn after leading the nation in yards per catch last season.

He has one catch for 10 yards total this season. The new-look group of wide receivers has fallen wildly short of expectations, and Shorter is one of them. He’s often been hardly noticeable on the field.

WR Nick Mardner

Grade: D

Mardner gets a slightly better grade despite not having a single catch this season and largely that is due to an injury that kept him out of Auburn’s first two games of the season. He likely isn’t at 100% health.

But zero catches for a player thought to be a redzone threat is not a good sign.

WR Shane Hooks

Grade: C-

There’s so much potential here and it just has not been utilized. Hooks has 8 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown this season. He played a very solid game against Samford.

But that’s about it. There was talk of Hooks being Auburn’s No. 1 receiver this season. That hasn’t happened. Hooks is one of only three Auburn receivers to even register on Pro Football Focus for player grades. This wide receiver group has not produced.

WR Caleb Burton

Grade: D-

Burton doesn’t have a catch this season. Another wide receiver who has not met the preseason hopes for production. Auburn’s website lists Burton as participating in only one game. He hasn’t been mentioned on the injury report.

TE Rivaldo Fairweather

Grade: B+

Fairweather has been Auburn’s best big-play option, and is one of the only reasons that Auburn won at Cal. He is Auburn’s second-leading receiver this year, but it only takes 145 yards to reach that placement. Pro Football Focus ranks him as one of the top 115 tight ends in the nation.

Auburn needs to get him the ball more than just the 15 catches he has.

OL Gunner Britton

Grade: B

Britton has been asked to play multiple positions across the offensive line and has received a largely favorable ranking from Pro Football Focus — positioned just outside the top 150 guards in the nation.

He initially appeared as Auburn’s right tackle but has fit better inside at guard, especially when Auburn decided to start Izavion Miller at right tackle.

OL Avery Jones

Grade: C

Jones has been reliable for his availability, but the play has been mediocre. None of his Pro Football Focus grades are objectively bad, just all pretty average. A C feels reasonable.

OL Dillon Wade

Grade: B

Wade has an excellent Pro Football Grade for his pass blocking, being ranked 29th out of 594 tackles. But his run block grade is outside the top 200 and Auburn has struggled with a number of edge rushes this season.

Wade has been penalized at times, but has remained healthy and not many of Auburn’s offensive linemen can say that.

OL Jaden Muskrat

Grade: C

Muskrat has played in all five games. He has been forced into an expanded role due to injuries. Hasn’t been anything spectacular, but hasn’t been a primary culprit on a unit that has been mediocre as a whole.

OL Izavion Miller

Grade: C-

Miller has had a wildly inconsistent season and then has dealt with injuries on top of it when he got hurt against Samford. He struggled against Cal with penalties and being beaten off the edge, but had earned himself a starting spot. A wholly mixed bag.

OL Dylan Senda

Grade: Incomplete

Senda has only played in one game and hasn’t had a route to see the field this season. His path to playing time appeared backlogged long before the season started. Hard to know what, if anything, Auburn has here just yet.

DL Lawrence Johnson

Grade: C

Johnson was expected to be a backup, which is where he ended up, and that isn’t going to mean much productivity.

Johnson has four total tackles and a sack. Another player who hasn’t had much expected of him, and hasn’t done much.

DL Justin Rogers

Grade: C-

Similar to Johnson, Rogers wasn’t expected to have significant playing time. But Rogers receives a slightly worse grade because he has produced fairly identical stats to Johnson despite having much higher hopes for his role and production.

DL Quientrail Jamison-Travis

Grade: Not enough information

Jamison-Travis has only played in one game. There aren’t a lot of stats to work on nor was he expected to have a consistent role for this team in 2023.

DE Mosiah Nasili-Kite

Grade: Incomplete

Nasili-Kite started all five games for Auburn thus far, but it was announced Wednesday that he will miss the remainder of the season with an injury. His PFF grades were not good before the injury. Nasili-Kite’s overall grade is 581st out of 838 players at this position nationally. He has played a lot of snaps, but not put up a lot of stats.

Though given the injury, it’s hard to give a full grade.

LB Elijah McAllister

Grade: B-

McAllister’s role on this team is a leader. And that is likely his more important role. His stats have been nothing special this season. He was initially a starter before Jalen McLeod was healthy, or at least healthier. His Pro Football Focus grade is fairly average.

His off-the-field grade was much higher. To be elected a team captain as a transfer in the first year says a lot.

LB Jalen McLeod

Grade: B

McLeod has long been regarded by Freeze as Auburn’s best pass rusher. He has struggled to stay healthy throughout this season.

And while he has been dynamic as a pass rusher, McLeod is yet to record a tackle for loss or a sack. Time to turn the pressure into production.

LB Stephen Sings V

Grade: C

Sings had a ton of buzz in the preseason based on his connection with Freeze at Liberty. But he’s done next to nothing this season. He has played in every game but only has four total tackles and one quarterback hit.

Auburn hasn’t had much of a pass rush this year, especially without McLeod on the field at any given point.

LB Austin Keys

Grade: Incomplete

Keys was a starter on Auburn’s defense before a thumb injury that has kept him out since Auburn’s opener against UMass. He only had two tackles in that game.

On the SEC coaches teleconference during the bye week, Freeze said Keys is still about three weeks away from deciding whether his cast will come off.

LB Larry Nixon

Grade: B+

Nixon was thrust into a starting role after Keys’ injury, and has done an impressive job stepping in. He’s second on the team in total tackles and has 1.5 tackles for loss.

He’s appeared to be more comfortable in the defense over recent weeks, and even been productive enough to be pulled into the postgame interview room for the last two games.

He’s gotten better each week, with his best game coming last week against Georgia.

DB Champ Anthony

Grade: Not enough information

Anthony hasn’t played enough meaningful snaps yet to determine his grade.

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