Hugh Freeze reaffirms message to players after receiving early backlash over his hire

Auburn‘s hiring of Hugh Freeze captured headlines around the country, with the embattled former Ole Miss coach enduring no shortage of early backlash over his hire.

How has Freeze combated the potential negative recruiting that accompanied that backlash? What message did he give to prospective players?

“Just give it a chance to really get to know me and not something you’ve heard or read,” Freeze said. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’ve owned everything that has come into my life both good and bad and have made the adjustments where I needed to make them.”

Still, in a conference as competitive as the SEC those previous issues are unlikely to ever completely disappear. Competitors will point them out at every turn in head-to-head recruiting battles.

But Freeze believes he can overcome those at Auburn, even with the early backlash over his hire.

“I think the testament of that is how strong our families are, my family is, my friends are that know me,” Freeze said. “Hopefully the ones that really matter are our players, our fans, our administration and our families. I’m comfortable with that, and hopefully those that take the chance and take the time to get to know us will see the same.”

Hugh Freeze explains decision to give up playcalling

New Auburn coach Hugh Freeze is considered one of the best offensive coaches in college football, but he made the decision to give up playcalling duties with the Tigers.

Why, exactly?

“I think there’s a point in time is your whole concern is what is best for whatever program you’re leading,” Freeze said. “There’s so many dynamics to running a program at this level today that are maybe a little bit new and different.”

NIL and the transfer portal, for starters, have increased the time demand on coaches, as they’re routinely putting out fires around the clock.

With that dynamic in mind, Freeze feels like his time is better spent on making sure the program is taken care of from those angles instead of spending time drawing up plays or crafting a gameplan. Thus it was a simple decision to give up playcalling duties.

“I’m very convinced that the culture in the locker room for teams that have talent will, if the culture’s right, it’s going to pay great dividends,” Freeze said. “And I think there’s an enormous amount of time that I can put into that to help us.”