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Auburn first-year coach Hugh Freeze opened preseason camp Thursday with a lingering sense of doubt due to all the brand new gamers who weren’t with the crew in the course of the spring, together with eight transfers.

“It makes me really feel somewhat bit anxious that I could also be behind in our analysis of who we’re and what we are able to do,” Freeze informed reporters. “Possibly we’re. That is a sense I’ve to battle.”

Freeze believes that aggressively rebuilding the roster like the college did all through the offseason was “the precise factor.” However now, he stated, the gamers should “hurry up and catch up.”

Among the many late additions is former Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne, who is predicted to compete for the beginning job.

“That is essentially the most uncomfortable fall camp I am going into and it is due to this new world [of roster turnover],” Freeze stated. “We had gamers we added after spring ball, and one’s a quarterback and I have not coached him a single apply and everybody’s asking, ‘What do you suppose?’ I do not know.”

Freeze stated he is “excited” to see the quarterbacks compete.

Final season’s starter, Robby Ashford, is again, together with redshirt freshman Holden Geriner and true freshman Hank Brown.

Freeze stated the crew wish to slender the quarterback competitors to 2 shortly, however he would not lay out an actual timetable for his choice.

“I am undecided we will not win video games with a number of of them,” he stated.

Simply because Auburn can have a Week 1 starter doesn’t suggest that alternative shall be definitive, he added.

“How that performs out — heck, it could be three video games into the season earlier than we all know that is completely the man we’ve got to roll with,” he stated. “I hope it isn’t that, but it surely may very well be.”

Freeze has a historical past of getting essentially the most out of the quarterback place. At Ole Miss, Bo Wallace twice threw for greater than 3,000 yards. Wallace’s successor, Chad Kelly, threw for 4,042 yards in 2015.

At Liberty, Freeze coached 2022 third-round choose Malik Willis.

Freeze was employed away from Liberty in late November.

Auburn fired former coach Bryan Harsin eight video games into final season and completed with a 5-7 file. Former interim coach Cadillac Williams was retained by Freeze as affiliate head coach and operating backs coach.

Auburn is scheduled to open the season at dwelling towards UMass on Sept. 2.