Hugh Freeze emphasizes need for 'length and girth' to succeed in SEC

The Auburn Tigers are heading into their third season under head coach Hugh Freeze. After sitting a little below .500 overall in those first two seasons, Freeze knows that his team needs to improve to be competitive in the SEC.

With Fall Camp starting up around the country, Freeze has made it clear that he knows what Auburn needs. It comes down to a matter of size. Freeze emphasized, “You need length and girth in this league.”

Hugh Freeze has had plenty of experience in the SEC by now. After five seasons with Ole Miss and now two previous seasons with Auburn, he’s been able to coach some very successful teams in the conference. As of now, he’s 5-11 in conference play as the Auburn coach. So, while much of that success came when he was in Oxford, he still has that track record. It’s worth taking his advice on what’s needed in the league to win.

This offseason, Freeze has been addressing some of the issues that Auburn has had in his first two seasons to try and get competitive again in the SEC. That includes trying to work on his team’s size to be able to better compete. In the Transfer Portal, Auburn has the sixth-ranked transfer class in the 2025 cycle. That includes 20 incoming players. Among those players, six play on either the defensive or offensive lines.

After finishing 2-6 in SEC play, which was tied for 13th in the conference standings last season, the Tigers do need to find a way to bounce back. They’ll get their first chance to do that on September 20th, when Auburn hits the road for a game in Norman against the Oklahoma Sooners.

Hugh Freeze addresses importance, pressure of 2025 season at Auburn

There is always pressure to win in the SEC. At Auburn, that pressure is stronger than at most other schools within the conference. So, it’s no surprise that Hugh Freeze is feeling that pressure ahead of the 2025 season.

“Man, I embrace, I embrace the expectations of Auburn. You should have them there and I think, every season, you should have the expectations,” Freeze said.

“The exciting thing now is I really like this locker room and, you know, I like the kids, I like coaching them. I like our staff. And, I think we are primed. It’s time now to be in every game and then starting to find a way to win them by doing the little things better that we didn’t last year.”