NASHVILLE — It's either a really good thing or a really bad thing when a team plays three quarterbacks in a single game.

For Auburn football in its 31-13 loss to Maryland in the Music City Bowl on Saturday, it was certainly not good.

The Tigers, as usual, started Payton Thorne. But with the game out of hand in the fourth quarter, coach Hugh Freeze elected to get backup Holden Geriner and true freshman Hank Brown some live reps. Thorne completed 13 of his 27 throws for 84 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and Geriner was 1-for-6 passing for eight yards and an INT.

Brown, in his first career appearance, was the bright spot. The Lipscomb Academy product saw only two of his nine attempts fall incomplete, and he finished as the game's leading passer with 132 yards.

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Freeze was asked about Brown's performance, and how it might help where he sits on the QB hierarchy going into next season.

"It's wide open," Freeze said of the position. "I think Hank has something to him for sure. The guy threw 42 touchdowns and one pick his senior year in high school. There's something to that. I'm constantly evaluating. Players, staff, everything. If we see that my evaluation has been wrong and we have to change gears and reevaluate to make us better, then that's the steps we should make. That position should be an interesting one, certainly, in spring practice."

Freeze's response Saturday was more subdued than it was Dec. 16 when he fielded a question regarding the QB situation and if the Tigers were interested in adding a transfer. He didn't completely shut the idea down, but he firmly made it known his current belief was in Thorne and the players currently on the roster.

Thorne, when told of Freeze's "wide open" comment, said his thought process every offseason is the same.

"That's your mindset every offseason. You're trying to be as good as you can," Thorne said. "You're not competing against any other quarterbacks. That's been my mindset in any competition I've been in. You're competing against the defense, so I'm doing my best to get better as a quarterback myself, then get the guys around me better as well.

"That will translate into points, that will translate into wins. Like I said, I'm excited for a full offseason with all the guys here in Auburn and all the coaches. Looking forward to that."

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Is Payton Thorne Auburn football's QB? Hugh Freeze: 'It's wide open'