Lane Kiffin hilariously reacts to Hugh Freeze claiming 'length and girth' are needed to succeed in SEC

Lane Kiffin has rarely missed an opportunity to poke fun at good friend and Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze on X/Twitter over the past few years. This offseason, the Ole Miss head coach has taken the one-sided social media “feud” to new heights, including jokes highlighting the attention on Freeze’s controversial golf game as well as the occassional fishing picture while on vacation himself.

But on Wednesday, Kiffin only needed a single face-palming emoji to tease Freeze over his hilarious, out-of-context phrasing while expressing the need for larger players to be competitive in the SEC. Kiffin used the popular emoji in a quote-tweet of AL.com columnist Michael Casagrande‘s quoting Freeze saying “You need length and girth in this league” during Wednesday morning’s preseason press conference.

🤦🏼‍♂️ https://t.co/6BfBrDIThh

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) July 30, 2025

Freeze’s comments about “length and girth” come following an offseason where Auburn’s recruiting has taken a hit, and received plenty of criticism from both fans and rivals alike. As the Tigers enter Fall camp this week, Auburn’s 2026 recruiting class ranks 55th nationally, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally-weighted algorithm that utilizes all three major recruiting media companies.

This offseason, Freeze has been forced to addressed several issues, including his own ongoing battle with prostate cancer, after Auburn has struggled to put together a winning product on the field during his first two seasons on The Plains. That includes trying to build up the Tigers’ size comparable to SEC powers like rivals Alabama and Georgia. Freeze and Auburn did go all-in on the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason, landing the sixth-ranked transfer class in the 2025 cycle, per the Rivals Industry Ranking. That included bringing in 20 newcomers, including former Oklahoma transfer QB Jackson Arnold along with six players on either the defensive or offensive lines.

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.”

After finishing 2-6 in SEC play last season, which was tied for 13th in the conference standings, the Tigers are determined to find a way to bounce back in Year 3 under Freeze. 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.

— On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.