Hugh Freeze looks back on what Auburn could have done differently this season
Hugh Freeze had a solid first season at Auburn, as he looked to build a foundation for future success that the Tigers could rely on for the coming seasons.
The team had their hiccups, and they squandered an opportunity to end their campaign with a bowl victory, but there’s potential in Freeze’s vision for Auburn. Still, he recognized that the Tigers missed out on a bevy of opportunities throughout his first season.
“Every game is different,” Freeze started, asked what he would’ve done differently in 2023. “If you go look at the Georgia game, I wish we would have protected better because we had some shots. If you go to the Ole Miss game, I wish we would have gone more tempo. If you go to the Alabama game, I wish we’d have been able to punch better and I wish we’d have taught 4th and 31 defense better. But ultimately you have to look at yourself as coaches. Our kids are going to make some mistakes sometimes, but in those critical moments, are our kids coached well enough to get it done, and when we don’t get it done, you have to look at — I have to look at myself.
“Every game is different as to what you would have done differently, but you certainly don’t enjoy having to say that or feel that, but that’s the way I feel right now. We’re going to improve the roster and all of that, but we still could have gotten more out of this season, I believe, for our young men and our wonderful fans.”
Still, Freeze is putting the guilt on himself for believing that Auburn didn’t live up to their potential in 2023. It’s only Year 1 of what seemed like a job that needed a couple of seasons to get back to the forefront, but don’t tell Freeze that.
“I’m probably my hardest critic,” Freeze added. “I don’t think I did a very good job in a lot of areas this year with our staff and with our team. We felt like we competed really, really well in some games and we had some letdowns in others, and we didn’t complete some games we could have won, and we weren’t consistent in the level of competitiveness that you have to have to win at this level, particularly in our conference or against Big Ten teams.
“We can all say we need to improve our roster, and we’ve said that, and we’re working on that, and we’re going to do that. But even with the roster we had, I felt like we could have gotten more out of it if I had done a better job.”
Nevertheless, that’s an impressive attitude for Hugh Freeze to have. The coach and Auburn will be better off next season for having gone through 2023’s difficulties, and 2024 could bring an improved level of success for the Tigers.