The Auburn Tigers had a rough go of it on Saturday afternoon in the loss to California, but perhaps nobody had as tough of a day as Tiger quarterback Payton Thorne.
Thorne had one of his worst performances in an Auburn uniform, throwing for four interceptions and nearly a 5th along with loss than 200 passing yards and a completion percentage barely over 50 percent.
Amid all the noise after the loss, Thorne was as good natured as could be during his weekly appearance with The Next Round. He even laughed about receiving Venmo requests from college football fans who lost money betting on Auburn:
“Obviously everyone says just don’t listen to [criticism] and all that, sometimes that’s easier said than done because in today’s world they come at you from all different angles,” Thorne said. “Obviously they come at you on social media, they hit you on Venmo … You just have to block it out, you have to go back to where your foundation is in your life and for me thats my Faith and my family.”
Thorne was pressed further on the Venmo issue and revealed the absurd notion that he has been receiving the requests.
“It’s funny, when they lose money they want the money back, but when they win money on a parlay no one’s ever sent me anything,” he said to a huge laugh from the crew.
While his performance must improve if he stays on the field, it’s nice to see that Thorne can be good natured in what is a difficult time for the young man.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
