9.7.23 Football Articles

[Paladin 3,307]

'Best friends' Payton Thorne, Sam Jackson reunite as dueling transfer QBs“He’s been one of those guys who’s always been there for me — somebody I can always call. I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about me.”

Nathan King 84 mins

The day after both their teams breezed past their Week 1 opponents, Auburn QB Payton Thorne shot a text to one of his closest friends: Sam Jackson, the Cal quarterback who may be looking to take down the Tigers this Saturday night, if he’s healthy.

Thorne, the fifth-year graduate transfer tasked with leading Auburn and Hugh Freeze’s passing game in 2023, hasn’t been on the same field with Jackson since 2019, and he wanted to express his excitement to see his friend again.

Jackson left Thorne’s text on read — just out of principle.

“It’s game week,” Jackson said with a laugh this week. “We’re best friends. … But I don’t think they’re should be any communication between me and you, bro. There will be love after the game. But it’s game time.”

One of the most intriguing nonconference showdowns of the young college football season could feature a quarterback matchup of former high-school teammates — and close friends, who now find themselves in their second college destinations after playing together at Naperville Central, about an hour outside Chicago.

They never expected to meet at the college level until Thorne left Michigan State, where he started 26 games, in April and chose Auburn. Thorne wasn’t even aware of Auburn’s schedule when he chose the Tigers. But Jackson sure was.

“He called me at the end of his decision to go somewhere, and Auburn was one of his places,” Jackson said. “When he did it, I was like wow, we play Auburn (in) Week 2. I’ve had that game marked since he transferred. It’s pretty crazy to me to even think about it. It’ll be pretty exciting for those back home that watched us play high school together.”

After his freshman season down the road at Bolingbrook High School, Jackson transferred to Naperville ahead of his sophomore year. He would become a 4-star quarterback and sign with TCU by the time he became a senior, but Jackson came in knowing Thorne was at the controls. Thorne had been committed to Michigan State since the previous summer.

So Jackson was fine with taking a different role until Thorne left for college. He played receiver his sophomore year at Naperville and caught 14 touchdowns from Thorne.

“Payton was already the guy,” Jackson said. “I’m a team player, so I wanted to go out there and get some experience.”

When Jackson made the move over to Naperville, Thorne took the sophomore under his wing, and they eventually became close friends.

“After every single game, I’d spend the night at his place,” Jackson said. “Just talk ball all night.”

It was in those conversations that Thorne learned of Jackson’s desires to play quarterback. So before he left for Michigan State in the summer of 2019, he mentored Jackson and imparted what he’d learned about being a high-level high school quarterback. Jackson said they’d get out on the practice field and throw almost every day after school.

The results? Jackson became the No. 1 quarterback in the state of Illinois in the 2021 recruiting class, per the 247Sports Composite, and signed with TCU.

Jackson was named Cal’s starter this preseason but suffered a shoulder injury early in the team’s 58-21 win at North Texas last Saturday. Jackson said he’s preparing like he’ll play against Thorne and Auburn, but he’ll be a “game-time decision.”

"I can’t wait to see him," Thorne said after Auburn's 59-14 win over UMass. "That’s one of my absolute best friends. We’ll be friends for the rest of our lives. ... He’s an electric player. It’s going to be fun to play against him.”

Regardless of whether he gets to duel his friend and former mentor, Jackson is most looking forward to that first reunion on the field before the game — greeting one another as two Power Five starting quarterbacks.

“He’s been one of those guys who’s always been there for me — somebody I can always call,” Jackson said. “I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about me.”

[3rdgeneration 6,650]

2 hours ago, Paladin said:

'Best friends' Payton Thorne, Sam Jackson reunite as dueling transfer QBs“He’s been one of those guys who’s always been there for me — somebody I can always call. I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about me.”

Nathan King 84 mins

The day after both their teams breezed past their Week 1 opponents, Auburn QB Payton Thorne shot a text to one of his closest friends: Sam Jackson, the Cal quarterback who may be looking to take down the Tigers this Saturday night, if he’s healthy.

Thorne, the fifth-year graduate transfer tasked with leading Auburn and Hugh Freeze’s passing game in 2023, hasn’t been on the same field with Jackson since 2019, and he wanted to express his excitement to see his friend again.

Jackson left Thorne’s text on read — just out of principle.

“It’s game week,” Jackson said with a laugh this week. “We’re best friends. … But I don’t think they’re should be any communication between me and you, bro. There will be love after the game. But it’s game time.”

One of the most intriguing nonconference showdowns of the young college football season could feature a quarterback matchup of former high-school teammates — and close friends, who now find themselves in their second college destinations after playing together at Naperville Central, about an hour outside Chicago.

They never expected to meet at the college level until Thorne left Michigan State, where he started 26 games, in April and chose Auburn. Thorne wasn’t even aware of Auburn’s schedule when he chose the Tigers. But Jackson sure was.

“He called me at the end of his decision to go somewhere, and Auburn was one of his places,” Jackson said. “When he did it, I was like wow, we play Auburn (in) Week 2. I’ve had that game marked since he transferred. It’s pretty crazy to me to even think about it. It’ll be pretty exciting for those back home that watched us play high school together.”

After his freshman season down the road at Bolingbrook High School, Jackson transferred to Naperville ahead of his sophomore year. He would become a 4-star quarterback and sign with TCU by the time he became a senior, but Jackson came in knowing Thorne was at the controls. Thorne had been committed to Michigan State since the previous summer.

So Jackson was fine with taking a different role until Thorne left for college. He played receiver his sophomore year at Naperville and caught 14 touchdowns from Thorne.

“Payton was already the guy,” Jackson said. “I’m a team player, so I wanted to go out there and get some experience.”

When Jackson made the move over to Naperville, Thorne took the sophomore under his wing, and they eventually became close friends.

“After every single game, I’d spend the night at his place,” Jackson said. “Just talk ball all night.”

It was in those conversations that Thorne learned of Jackson’s desires to play quarterback. So before he left for Michigan State in the summer of 2019, he mentored Jackson and imparted what he’d learned about being a high-level high school quarterback. Jackson said they’d get out on the practice field and throw almost every day after school.

The results? Jackson became the No. 1 quarterback in the state of Illinois in the 2021 recruiting class, per the 247Sports Composite, and signed with TCU.

Jackson was named Cal’s starter this preseason but suffered a shoulder injury early in the team’s 58-21 win at North Texas last Saturday. Jackson said he’s preparing like he’ll play against Thorne and Auburn, but he’ll be a “game-time decision.”

"I can’t wait to see him," Thorne said after Auburn's 59-14 win over UMass. "That’s one of my absolute best friends. We’ll be friends for the rest of our lives. ... He’s an electric player. It’s going to be fun to play against him.”

Regardless of whether he gets to duel his friend and former mentor, Jackson is most looking forward to that first reunion on the field before the game — greeting one another as two Power Five starting quarterbacks.

“He’s been one of those guys who’s always been there for me — somebody I can always call,” Jackson said. “I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about me.”

This is a really cool story.  What an amazing piece of fate.  

[aubiefifty 18,259]

 

[aubiefifty 18,259]

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs. California

Brian Hauch

Thu, September 7, 2023 at 3:00 PM CDT·4 min read

1

A pair of 1-0 teams will face off in week two, when the Auburn Tigers travel across the country to take on the California Golden Bears in Berkley California.

Auburn is coming off a 59-14 thumping of UMass in their home opener, while Cal’s week one game went eerily similar, as they coasted on the road against North Texas, 58-21.

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Despite these similar results and Auburn having to travel all the way to the west coach and play in California Memorial Stadium, BetMGM currently has the Tigers as a 6.5 point favorite, giving the Tigers an implied odds of 71.43 to win the matchup outright.

ESPN’s FPI calculator sees this game going differently, as the Index is giving Cal a 54.9% chance to win their home opener.

With the differing opinions on how this game is going to play out, we’ll take it to the tale of the tape to provide some more clarity.

This game features two transfer quarterbacks who have yet to play a full game for their new teams.

On the home side, quarterback Sam Jackson V played sparingly in his first two seasons for TCU, completing 6 passes in 6 attempts for 125 yards.

Jackson was named the starter in week one, but an early injury forced him to miss the remainder of the game after he completed 3/4 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 18 yards on three carries.

NC State transfer Ben Finley came in to replace him and played well, collecting 279 yards and a touchdown in the win. Still, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox told Jackson he wants him back, as he’s been named the starter for week two.

On the Auburn side of the ball, Payton Thorne played well in his 3+ quarters of action in week one, collecting 141 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 59% of his passes.

Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze also used a second quarterback frequently in week one, giving Robby Ashford a handful of packages in the red zone that led to 51 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

The edge in the quarterback department goes to Auburn, based on the fact Thorne and Ashford boast much more experience than Jackson and Finley.

As for the battle of the skill positions, that is much closer.

Auburn played week one without their number one running back in Jarquez Hunter. That didn’t stop the Tigers from rushing for 289 yards thanks to great games from their o-line, the aforementioned Robby Ashford, Sean Jackson, and Jeremiah Cobb.

Cal on the other hand rushed for 312 yards on the back of sophomore running back Jaydn Ott’s 188. Ott’s 188 yards and two-touchdown performance comes off the back of a very impressive freshmen season in which he racked up 1,218 total yards (897 rushing) and 11 touchdowns for a team that won a single game.

Ott is probably the best skill position player in this game, and the fact he is paired with a true number-one receiving threat in Jeremiah Hunter (965 receiving yards in 2022) gives Cal the edge over Auburn’s committee backfield and unproven receiver room.

The defenses in this game also stack up fairly evenly. Last year, Cal’s defense was in the middle of the pack in Division 1, giving up an average of 433.2 YPG. Auburn was slightly better, conceding 406.5 YPG to its opponents in 2022.

It was Cal who had the edge in week one of 2023 however, as they were able to hold a solid North Texas team to just 225 total yards. Auburn on the other hand gave up 301 to a UMass team that isn’t very good.

It’s too early in the season to give one team the edge on defense.

If these comparisons have taught us anything, it’s that this game will be as close as many experts expect it to be. These teams very similarly had bad seasons in 2022 and good starts to 2023, but only one of them will continue the positive vibes into week three.

This game should be a doozy, and it all kicks off at 9:30 p.m. CST on Saturday.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire