ESPN analyst breaks down whether Hugh Freeze, Auburn quarterbacks face more pressure in 2025

As Auburn heads into the 2025 season, all the pressure is on head coach Hugh Freeze to produce. The team’s offenses have left a lot to be desired in recent years, mostly due to inept play at the quarterback position.

On Wednesday’s episode of College Football Live on ESPN2, the panel tackled whether Freeze or his quarterbacks are under more pressure this fall. The answer came quickly from analyst Sam Acho.

“Oh hands down head coach Hugh Freeze,” Acho said. “Hugh Freeze has not done a great job of encouraging his quarterbacks. Last year you look at some of the quarterback changes, oftentimes he threw his QBs under the bus. Look at Payton Thorne as a prime example.”

Thorne started the majority of the season, though there was some back and forth. And Freeze’s comments were often critical.

The former Michigan State transfer finished with 2,713 yards passing and 21 touchdowns, but he threw nine interceptions. He also ran for 283 yards and two scores.

Auburn will be looking for more from the quarterback position this fall. Can Hugh Freeze get that?

“This year he has a transfer in Jackson Arnold,” Acho said. “But he needs to instill confidence in his quarterback, not the other way around.”

Hugh Freeze opens up on Jackson Arnold

In an appearance on ‘See Ball, Get Ball’ with David Pollack, Hugh Freeze discussed why Arnold was the Tigers’ transfer target at quarterback this offseason. That started with Freeze’s evaluation of him in thinking his skill set was made to run his offense and has been since he came out as a top prospect from Denton, Texas.

“Yeah, well, truthfully, it comes back to what I saw from him out of high school. I just thought he was elite,” Freeze said. “I thought, I mean, obviously, he was Gatorade Player of the Year and, you know, maybe the No. 1 quarterback in the country coming out of high school and everybody wanted him. And I thought he had all of the natural ability that it takes to run the offense I want to run.”

Arnold had an up-and-down last season at Oklahoma, prompting his eventual transfer this offseason. But Hugh Freeze didn’t seem overly concerned with last year’s struggles.

“You know, studying the Oklahoma film? And, I think others felt that way too, even at Oklahoma when, you know, you let a guy like Dillon Gabriel walk out the door believing you have – I would assume that was the feeling, that you’ve got a guy here that’s the heir apparent,” said Freeze. “I just think it was very difficult circumstances, which all of us walk through at times. Where, I mean, what’d he have, three different coordinators in one year? And, all of the receivers were injured, some of the O-line was injured. And, it just, I think it was an unfortunate circumstance and I don’t know that it’s really anybody’s fault. It just, it was a thing that I think kind of compiled.”

On3’s Sam Gillenwater also contributed to this report.