Analyst Predicts Former Auburn QB Will ‘Indict Hugh Freeze’

It is certainly no secret that the Hugh Freeze experiment that the Auburn Tigers conducted over the past few years was a resounding failure, though there are many opinions as to exactly why Freeze’s teams struggled so much.

A popular opinion has to do with the Tigers’ quarterback play at the time, as every quarterback under Freeze had at least one major issue that bottlenecked the Tigers’ offense.

However, Ryan Brown of Next Round Live believes that Jackson Arnold, specifically, will have a much-improved season this year under Dan Mullen at UNLV, which would certainly not be a great look for Freeze, who made a habit of blaming last year’s losses on his quarterback.

“I actually think [Arnold] is going to flourish at UNLV,” Brown said. “I think Dan Mullen will unlock him… I think he’s in a better offensive situation now. It probably will indict Hugh Freeze more. It will make Hugh Freeze look bad and make Dan Mullen look like a quarterback whisperer.”

Freeze had many Tiger fans believing that he was a top-level quarterback developer at the time, but after Payton Thorne’s major interception issues, the team pivoted to Jackson Arnold, who never found his stride on the Plains and transferred to UNLV after being benched to end the season.

Arnold struggled massively with sacks, largely due to his habit of holding onto the ball for far too long in the pocket. Additionally, he struggled with getting his offense going in the clutch, resulting in the Tigers winning zero (0) games within one score last year.

These were not new issues for Arnold, who struggled immensely in his first starting year at Oklahoma, though there, his surrounding cast consisted of several injured receivers and a revolving door of offensive linemen. It is hard to blame the young quarterback for the issues with the Sooners, though his time in that offense may have set a tone that he would later have a difficult time breaking out of.

At Auburn, Freeze had put together a roster consisting of one of the best wide receiver cores in the country, as well as five (some would argue six) NFL-caliber offensive linemen. There, simply, was not really an excuse to struggle at Auburn, especially with all the talent surrounding him, but Freeze never seemed to be able to get Arnold out of the slump he brought with him from Norman.

If Arnold flourishes at UNLV, as predicted, some will put it down to a lower level of competition, though there will, of course, be something to be said about Arnold’s struggles suddenly evaporating once separated from Hugh Freeze.

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