CFB Zeitgeist QB Score
Awaiting
Payton Thorne
Limited signal — not enough coverage for a story yet.
QB · AUBURN · SEC
Payton Thorne
- 4
- #1
- 6-2 | 203 lb
- Naperville, IL
Heisman Heat
#54
<1% win probability
Fan Belief
Awaiting
Player-specific FI not yet ingested. Falls back to team mood below.
Respect Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
Reality Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
ACCOLADE PROBABILITY
Heisman
<1%
TOP QB AWARD
Davey O'Brien
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 3 · RecognizedR11 · National watch / fringe AA
National watch / fringe All-America. Knocking on the All-America door.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career arc · Season-by-season Standing
4 seasons on the ladder
★
2021
Michigan State · QB
R08 · Watch-list name
Recognized
2022
Michigan State · QB
—
2023
Auburn · QB
—
2024
Auburn · QB
—
Development Trajectory · passing yards
2021–2024-16%
Down 16% — context-dependent (injury / role change?).
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Identity & Role
The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.
Recruiting Pedigree
How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.
| Class | Profile | Context |
|---|---|---|
| No recruiting profile is on file for this player. | ||
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| Season | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Michigan State -> Auburn | 3-star | 0.8700 | Immediate |
Heisman Lens · 2024 Season · Final
Where the player landed at the end of the listed season — final nowcast rank, win/finalist/ballot probabilities, and the cleanest official Heisman placement on file.
HIGH CONFIDENCE· through week 16Heisman Futures
Not yet listed on major futures markets.
No achievements unlocked yet this season.
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
Selector recognition fills in once the major honors lists (AP, FWAA, AFCA, Walter Camp, Sporting News, SI) are scraped and ingested.
Today’s Hot-Take
The Hot-Take engine fires when this player’s percentile profile crosses a defensible threshold (top 10% in a cohort, 100+ snap sample). When it’s quiet, the model is honoring its “must be defensible” rule.
Anti-Take
PENDINGThe contrarian read fires when the rules-engine detects a stat that complicates the Hot-Take. Quiet here means the model hasn’t found a defensible counter yet — not that one doesn’t exist.
The Room on Payton Thorne
Fan sentiment · Awaiting signal
The Room reads fan conversation around a player — who’s talking, what they believe, and how that shifts. It publishes once weekly volume rebuilds; for most players that’s in-season, when game-week chatter spikes.
Cohort divergence map
Cohort divergence reads how different fanbases talk about this player. Returns once weekly mentions clear the publish floor.
Rival Radar
How rival fanbases talk about Payton Thorne
No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.
Signature Story
Awaiting candidate metric
He hasn't written his page yet — we'll start filling it in when there are enough snaps to rank against his peers.
Signature Moment
No signature moment on the ledger yet.
Returns once this player puts together a multi-game body of work — single-game flashes alone don't clear the bar.
Scenario Explorer
Available for players with a qualifying signature metric (passing yards, rushing yards, receiving yards, sacks, etc.). The slider projects how a season finishes if the current pace holds.
Why this is a two-channel quarterback case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
The unusual part of Payton Thorne's case is that the production comes in two channels, not one. For Auburn, he has 2,713 passing yards and 21 touchdown passes, but he also adds 283 rushing yards and 2 rushing scores. That kind of dual-threat load tends to create a more resilient Heisman case because the offense can tilt the game in multiple ways.
2024 Season · Final
Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.
Last season
QB season snapshot
2024 season snapshot | final
2024 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Player identity What kind of player is this?
30-second read
What kind of player is this?
High-volume passer | Dual-threat against FBS QB peers. The quickest read is whether the profile wins on volume, efficiency, explosiveness, or rushing value.
2024 Season · Final
2024 season snapshot | final
Passing Efficiency
CMP
199 82nd
ATT
317 82nd
CMP%
62.8% 56th
Y/A
8.6 84th
Passing Production
YDS
2,713 86th
TD
21 91st
INT
9 12th
Rushing
CAR
112 90th
YDS
283 85th
YPC
2.5 46th
TD
2 73rd
Game Log
Week-by-week box
No per-game rows for this season yet — the table fills in as box scores arrive.
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score
Traditional history
Traditional Stats
Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.
Season context · Team result + system
2021Michigan State10-2HC: Mel Tucker · Run-leaning
2022Michigan State5-7HC: Mel Tucker · Balanced
2023Auburn6-7HC: Hugh Freeze · Run-heavy
2024Auburn5-7HC: Hugh Freeze · Balanced
| Season | Team | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Auburn | 199 | 317 | 62.8% | 2,713 | 8.6 | 21 | 9 | 150.8 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Auburn | 162 | 265 | 61.1% | 1,755 | 6.6 | 16 | 10 | 129.1 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Michigan State | 242 | 387 | 62.5% | 2,679 | 6.9 | 19 | 11 | 131.2 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Michigan State | 235 | 389 | 60.4% | 3,240 | 8.3 | 27 | 10 | 148.1 | -- | -- |
| Career | 4 loaded seasons | 838 | 1,358 | 61.7% | 10,387 | 7.6 | 83 | 40 | 140.2 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Auburn | 112 | 283 | 2.5 | 2 | -- |
| 2023 | Auburn | 134 | 515 | 3.8 | 3 | -- |
| 2022 | Michigan State | 60 | 42 | 0.7 | 1 | -- |
| 2021 | Michigan State | 82 | 181 | 2.2 | 4 | -- |
| Career | 4 loaded seasons | 388 | 1,021 | 2.6 | 10 | -- |
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
Opponent-adjusted passing value. Positive numbers mean the quarterback is adding more value through the air than a neutral peer would in the same environment.
How much of the offense runs through the quarterback once passing and rushing responsibility are blended together.
Every percentile is compared against players at the same position and level, so an FBS quarterback is judged against FBS quarterbacks, not the whole sport.
The top tables stick to the stats fans already know from broadcasts and box scores. Advanced context is pushed underneath instead of replacing the basics.
Open full stat explorer
| Group | Metric | Value | Rank | Pct | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Passing yards | 2,713 | #53/382 | 86th pct | Volumevs FBS QB |
| Passing | Pass TD | 21 | #39/407 | 91st pct | Scoringvs FBS QB |
| Passing | Completions | 199 | #70/383 | 82nd pct | Volumevs FBS QB |
| Passing | Completion % | 62.8% | #169/383 | 56th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS QB |
| Passing | Yards / attempt | 8.6 | #63/382 | 84th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS QB |
| Rushing | Rushing yards | 283 | #64/408 | 85th pct | Volumevs FBS QB |
| Value | Passing WEPA | +0.48 | #6/200 | 98th pct | Opponent-adjusted passing value | 333 weighted playsvs FBS QB |
| Usage | Role share | 60.0% | #17/428 | 96th pct | Share of team offensevs FBS QB |
| Passing | Attempts | 317 | #73/407 | 82nd pct | Volumevs FBS QB |
| Passing | Interceptions | 9 | #359/407 | 12th pct | Turnoversvs FBS QB |
| Rushing | Carries | 112 | #42/408 | 90th pct | Volumevs FBS QB |
| Rushing | Rushing LONG | 31 | #105/391 | 73rd pct | Metricvs FBS QB |
| Rushing | Yards / carry | 2.5 | #222/407 | 46th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS QB |
| Rushing | Rush TD | 2 | #113/408 | 73rd pct | Scoringvs FBS QB |
| Usage | Pass share | 92.1% | #47/428 | 89th pct | Air-game usagevs FBS QB |
| Usage | Passing-down usage | 73.7% | #21/428 | 95th pct | Known-passing sharevs FBS QB |
| Usage | 3rd-down usage | 68.6% | #44/428 | 90th pct | Money-down loadvs FBS QB |
| Usage | 2nd-down usage | 59.8% | #21/428 | 95th pct | Middle-down loadvs FBS QB |
| Usage | 1st-down usage | 55.6% | #12/428 | 97th pct | Early-down loadvs FBS QB |
| Usage | Standard-down usage | 53.9% | #16/428 | 96th pct | Base-situation sharevs FBS QB |
| Usage | Rush share | 25.4% | #36/428 | 92nd pct | Ground-game usagevs FBS QB |
| Value | Rushing WEPA | +0.23 | #80/140 | 44th pct | Opponent-adjusted rushing value | 85 weighted playsvs FBS QB |
| Ball Security | Fumbles lost | 1 | #69/258 | 74th pct | Turnoversvs FBS QB |
Player Standing
Universal 17-step ladder. Tier pills below; accolade streams nested.
AWAITING CLASSIFICATION
On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex
AWAITING CLASSIFICATION · Rung None of 16
Why he’s here
Standing classification populates when honors, Heisman, and roster signals all align.
What moves him up
What moves him down
Accolade streams
Status—Awaiting tracker
Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.
Splits
Per-game splits
Splits fill in once box scores from at least three games land for this season.
Advanced Savant · QB · 2024
Percentile Card
Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.
P4G5All FBS
Advanced Savant
Opponent-adjusted advanced metrics with a cohort filter.
Advanced opponent-adjusted metrics are coming soon for this player. Selected cohort: P4.
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Hugh Freeze
Pass share
44.7%
360 pass / 445 run
Plays / game
67.1
12 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
13.3%
308 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Coaching Lineage · 2021–2024
3 coaches2021
Bryan Harsin
Auburn
2022era →
Cadillac Williams
Auburn
2023era →
Hugh Freeze
Auburn
2024
Hugh Freeze
Auburn
Played under 3 different head coaches: Bryan Harsin, Cadillac Williams, and Hugh Freeze. Multi-era developmental context.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownNaperville, IL
Height6'2"
Weight203 lb
Class4
PositionQB
Jersey1
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamAuburn
ConferenceSEC
Joined2024
Career arc4 season(s)
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
No formal honors on the ledger yet
All-America, all-conference, player-of-the-week, watch-list, and postseason awards land here when they're earned. The absence is the signal: most players never collect formal honors, and that's its own kind of context.
Honors Timeline
Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.
| Season | Honor | Scope | Team / Selector | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No formal honors on the ledger yet. All-America, all-conference, weekly awards, watch lists, and postseason trophies land here when they’re earned. | ||||
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Auburn | QB4 | #54 | #83 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | SEC |
| 2023 | Auburn | QB4 | #100 | #145 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | SEC |
| 2022 | Michigan State | QB4 | #251 | #387 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Big Ten |
| 2021 | Michigan State | QB4 | #19 | #22 | 1.7% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Big Ten |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Auburn | SEC | QB | 4 | No. 1 | 6-2 | 203 lb | Naperville, IL |
| 2023 | Auburn | SEC | QB | 4 | No. 1 | 6-2 | 203 lb | Naperville, IL |
| 2022 | Michigan State | Big Ten | QB | 4 | No. 1 | 6-2 | 203 lb | Naperville, IL |
| 2021 | Michigan State | Big Ten | QB | 4 | No. 1 | 6-2 | 203 lb | Naperville, IL |