What Hugh Freeze didn’t say became more notable than what he said. The Auburn coach didn’t call for patience. He didn’t become defensive when asked about the amount of golf he played this offseason. He didn’t blame his predecessor for Auburn’s 2024 record.
Freeze has proven himself a virtuoso in the excuse-making arts throughout his career, but he shelved those abilities Tuesday during his turn in the spotlight at SEC media days.
Good. There’s no stomach for a coach’s excuses in Year 3, anyway.
Auburn fans are starved for success after four consecutive losing seasons. So, Freeze might as well vow to deliver results, because that’s the only path forward for an embattled coach whose buyout is cheaper than most in the SEC.
“I love this team,” Freeze said from the stage in Atlanta.
Earlier this offseason, Freeze said on a Birmingham-based podcast that he’s “no fool” and he knows Auburn must make a bowl game. Excuse me? That comment made Freeze sound like a fool. A third-year coach with an 11-14 record at Auburn, with losses to New Mexico State, California and Vanderbilt, can’t think of the Gasparilla Bowl as a safe space.
Freeze changed his tune at SEC media days. He talked as if the College Football Playoff is within reach.
“I truly believe that, in the playoff run, we’re going to be in this discussion,” Freeze said. “That is what Auburn should be, in those talks, year in, year out.”
For the past several years, there’s been more talk of hot seats at Auburn than the playoff, for which the Tigers never have qualified. Auburn’s best postseason triumph since the playoff’s inception came at the Music City Bowl during the Guz Malzahn era.
Auburn cast itself into a pit by making one of the worst college football hires of the 21st century by anointing Bryan Harsin to replace Malzahn. Harsin, an interloper from Boise State, strutted in with a tough-guy attitude. He quickly lost portions of the locker room, and he failed to recruit the type of athletes he’d need to thrive in the SEC.
He proved a massive bust.
I can say that. Freeze shouldn’t, because, no matter how poorly Harsin fared at Auburn, a third-year coach can’t cast his program’s shortcomings onto his predecessor’s shoulders. Not in the SEC, and certainly not in this era when fixes are found in the transfer portal and improvement is possible in leaps, not baby steps, early in a coach’s tenure.
Auburn showed little improvement throughout Freeze’s first two seasons. Auburn’s 22 turnovers and an inability to finish games strongly contributed to the Tigers finishing 5-7 last year, when 8-4 was possible.
Freeze’s recruiting haul buoyed some belief in a brighter future, no matter the on-field results, until recruiting stalled this offseason. Auburn’s 2026 class ranks last in the SEC. Freeze offered a feeble explanation earlier this month when asked about the recruiting ranking. Enough already. Athletic director John Cohen promised a big August for recruiting. We’ll see.
Regardless, recruiting can’t be the only thing propping up a third-year coach at a program that last tasted more than six victories in a time before any of us had ever heard the word “coronavirus.”
Instituting a turnaround will require more fortitude and fewer flubs in close-game situations, but Freeze also improved the puzzle pieces. Auburn’s bundle of key transfer acquisitions included wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. (Georgia Tech) and offensive tackles Xavier Chaplin (Virginia Tech) and Mason Murphy (Southern California).
Freeze described this team’s potential as “limitless.”
“We absolutely want the expectations,” Freeze said, “and this team deserves them.”
Looking at Auburn’s schedule, I can talk myself into the Tigers achieving a much better record. So much hinges, though, on quarterback improvement.
Auburn transitioned to Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold, a former five-star recruit who didn’t live up to the billing with the Sooners. Oklahoma’s shoddy pass protection and numerous wide receiver injuries didn’t help Arnold’s cause.
From Freeze’s vantage point, Arnold fits “everything that I believe in doing offensively.” Here again, I say, we’ll see.
“I’ve seen (Arnold’s) swagger and confidence come back pretty quickly,” Freeze said.
That attitude must spread throughout the roster – and to the head coach. At least the excuses and downplaying of expectations dried up Tuesday. Neither will serve Freeze well at this juncture. Only wins can save him.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
