Hugh Freeze offers strong take on flipped commitments on National Signing Day
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze got a big win on National Signing Day by flipping the commitment of four-star DL Amaris Williams from Florida. However, he’s spent just as much time trying to convince players to honor their commitment to the Tigers.
Freeze was asked which he spends more energy on in his National Signing Day press conference, to which he offered an interesting response. Despite the fact that he benefitted from a flipped commitment, he seemed to be critical of the process.
“It was both,” he said. “There’s some schools in this conference that, they believe in last night efforts. You gotta fight. You gotta hold on. You gotta stay up all night and play video games and do stuff that’s out of my comfort zone. There was some late night pushes and we won and held on some. Won one, lost one.
“People in this conference are good at what they do. I don’t always like what is done, but you gotta have plans and you gotta fight for it. But it was both. You’ve gotta try to hold on to your good ones and try to win a few battles at the end on some kids that are undecided.”
Auburn is also trying to flip five-star receiver Ryan Williams but will have more time to do so. The in-state talent is currently committed to Alabama, but will not make his decision until February. If the Tigers could manage to get him to leave the Crimson Tide for them, it would undoubtedly be even bigger than Amaris Williams’ flip.
Of course, as Freeze alluded to, there’s also the other side of recruiting flips. The Tigers didn’t see any big losses from their commitments on Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible down the road. It sounds like he spent a good deal of time trying to fight off coaches last-minute, and didn’t appear too happy about that.
Either way, it was still a successful National Signing Day for Auburn and Hugh Freeze. The Tigers signed the No. 7 recruiting class in the country, including No. 4 in the SEC, according to On3’s Team Recruiting Rankings. That included two five-star players and 11 four-star players, a big win for Freeze’s first real class after taking over.
The Tigers finished 6-6 to achieve bowl eligibility in Freeze’s inaugural season, and with this class thansk in part to one big flip, the future looks bright.