AUBURN — Auburn football is in the home stretch of spring practice.

The Tigers had their 13th practice of the season Tuesday, and reporters were given about two hours to watch 10 periods. The team will practice once more this week before A-Day arrives Saturday (1 p.m. CT, SEC Network+).

"Hopefully we can get through this week healthy," Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said Tuesday. "We've been beat up considerably at the receiver position. That's caused us a little slow down in some of the things we're trying to do. Other than that we're pretty healthy. (I've) been pleased with the energy and passion and love the things I see from our staff and a lot of our players. ... Excited about finishing up this week and continuing to recruit."

Here are our biggest takeaways from Tuesday's practice:

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• Freeze said earlier in the day that quarterback Payton Thorne will go into fall camp as the favorite to be the starter. It's clear why, as he was the most consistent QB between the quartet of himself, redshirt freshman Hank Brown, redshirt sophomore Holden Geriner and four-star freshman Walker White.

• Thorne had a really nice throw on the run, rolling to his left and firing a deep ball into the end zone that was dropped about as perfect as it gets right over the defender. The walk-on receiver couldn't haul it in, but it was a dime.

• Brown tossed a touchdown to freshman WR Cam Coleman, who came up a bit gimpy after hauling in the pass in the back right corner of the end zone. Coleman, who appeared to be favoring his left leg, was checked out by trainers before re-joining his teammates. He didn't have another rep after that, but it was towards the end of practice anyway.

• Second-year cornerback Colton Hood also got shaken up after colliding with Jerrin Thompson on a play that ended with Thompson picking off Brown. Hood's leg evaluated before returning to practice, and he did have reps later on.

• Hood has done well in establishing himself as a top-three CB on the team along with Kayin Lee and Keionte Scott. Champ Anthony has been getting a lot of run in the slot.

• Redshirt freshman corner JC Hart had an interception, taking one from Geriner.

• Freshman CB Jay Crawford stood out in some of the reps he received, largely with the second team. He had a nice pass breakup against Jay Fair on fourth down to get a stop.

• The starting offensive line remains (from left to right) Percy Lewis, Dillon Wade, Connor Lew, Jeremiah Wright and Izavion Miller. Cam Coleman and Robert Lewis were the first-team receivers on the outside, while Sam Jackson V was in the slot.

• Amaris Williams, a four-star freshman, took some reps at Buck linebacker (pass rusher) with Jalen McLeod not participating much.

• Freshman kicker Towns McGough was 3-for-3 on kicks. His longest came from 45 yards out, and it had plenty of room to spare.

• Transfer receiver Sam Jackson V remains in a non-contact jersey due to his recovery from an offseason shoulder surgery. Jackson participates in practice at just about full speed and he looks otherwise healthy.

• Alvin Henderson, a four-star running back in the Class of 2025, was one of the recruits watching practice. Former offensive linemen Kam Stutts and Gunner Britton were also in attendance.

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

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: Spring practice observations from Tuesday