Hugh Freeze goes on lengthy rant about being dedicated after Damari Alston dismissal

Tough news came out of the Plains this week regarding running back Damari Alston. The now-former Auburn captain is no longer with the program, being dismissed following the loss to Georgia. Alston “failed to meet the standards” of Auburn, per head coach Hugh Freeze.

When speaking about the situation, a question about the locker room triggered a lengthy rant from Freeze. Adversity is a word almost every coach out there uses, wanting their players to respond well when facing some. Freeze is no different, believing Auburn is ready to remain dedicated after seeing Alston leave.

“I think in this day and time, people feed off of trying to create things that may or may not be true,” Freeze said. “Here’s the one thing I believe in and I firmly believe that when the stage is set with adversity that the opportunity for greatness is there and the right type of people, adversity reveals exactly what you’re character is and what you’re made of and how much you truly care about this place, the people that have given you this opportunity, your brothers in that locker room that you’ve committed to. In this day and time, I guess that commitment is a year at a time of a semester at a time but nonetheless, that’s what we’ve signed up for.

“Adversity reveals that and I believe that’s a locker room full of guys that are going to fight their tails off because they know how close they are and what it means to each other and this place. So, how we respond will reveal that. You’ve got to go through it, you can’t go around it. There’s no shortcut and there’s no easy games, there’s no easy roads. The great thing is you get to find out a lot about yourself and about who you really are. I’m excited to see that.”

Through four games, Alston received 32 carries for 128 yards and one touchdown. His final appearance as an Auburn Tiger saw only seven touches for nine yards. For the most part, Jeremiah Cobb (70 carries for 453 yards and four touchdowns) has been the team’s lead back, now only getting a bigger role.

As Freeze mentioned, there will be no shortcuts for Auburn. Missouri comes to town needing to respond itself due to a loss against Alabama. Freeze is ready to see how his team comes out and performs, looking to break a three-game losing streak without Alston.