Opinion: Auburn Football Is Gonna Be Okay
In this story:
At 28 years old, having bled blue and orange since birth, I have grown up witnessing some of the finest moments from one of the finest programs in America. My dad, Jeff Redding, made sure that the reason I cheered for Auburn wasn't just because I wanted to be like my old man (which I still do) but because I loved its rich history and trendsetting traditions, and that no matter the weather of the season, I wouldn't just crawl under a rock and wait until a better year came around like some "fans" of the OTHER school would do.
And at 28 years old, I have seen plenty. No, not as much as your grandfather or legendary columnist Philip Marshall. I was never in the stands for "Bo Over the Top" or welcomed Georgia Tech to Auburn with slicked-down railway tracks. But I was there to watch Brodie Croyle get sacked fifty bajillion times in '05. I was there the year before when Auburn went 14-0 without a national championship and a few years later when Cam took us 14-0 again WITH a national championship. I was at a college banquet watching Auburn on my phone when the Prayer at Jordan-Hare was answered as we sunk Georgia, and who can forget where they were when the Kick-Six happened? (For me, it was in the living room and my mom screamed so loud that my eardrum almost burst as Davis rounded the 50 yard line). My family and I were at a funeral for my grandfather, having the most balanced of emotions as the side of grief of losing someone was counterbalanced by the side of "whipping the dog crap" out of No. 1 Georgia all night that night (no doubt, Grandad Redding was smiling too from above).
It also, unfortunately, means that I have seen some of the lowest. That same 2017 year was the 20-0 blown lead at LSU. 13 seconds from a national title in 2013. 3-9 in Chizik's final year at the helm the year before, and 5-7 the year Tuberville resigned in '08. Games that slipped away in the last quarter or second, penalties that go the other way (or should never have happened) to hiring coaches from up north who know nothing of the juggernaut that is SEC football and southern recruiting. When it rains, it pours.
Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Thankfully, this year, Auburn has learned how to dance in the rain. The media reaction from the 13-10 victory over Texas A&M this year at Jordan-Hare was as electric as a power plant. Our own coach Freeze even admitted that it "looked like a national title game" with everything on the line. Coach Cadillac was handed an unfair hand with a team sitting in a muddle of doubt and a 3-5 record. Bowl eligibility was on the line, but the prestige of the Cheese-It Bowl is lost in the age of the College Football Playoff. What was left to play for now?
Pride. The Auburn Spirit and Auburn pride.
Upon being named the interim, his message echoed that sentiment. "I don’t know if we’re going to win a ballgame or not" he had said "One thing that’s going to make me happy is if we play good football - and hard, Auburn football. I honestly -- that’s what I want to get these kids to do, man -- play hard and compete. At the end of the day, I told these kids, win, lose or draw, if we do that, not only will we make ourselves proud, but I know the Auburn family will be proud of us, too."
And who can forget the whirlwind of emotions as Auburn looked for the next man up. Names from Dabo Swinney to Jeff Grimes to the four-week favorite Lane Kiffin circled Twitter like buzzards over TCU's offense against Georgia. John Cohen eventually went the Bruce Pearl route and gave a former SEC coach a second chance and went with Hugh Freeze.
The reactions were... Immediate, so to say. Personally, I was underwhelmed after all the speculation of a big-name playoff coach coming to the Plains, but I thought he was worth a shot. His recruiting abilities in the dirty south and offensive prowess made him a far better option than the previous regime. Others were not so accepting of the former Ole Miss coach, and World War III took place on Twitter between Auburn and... Well, Auburn. At the end of the day, the only thing to do was wait and see what his next moves were as the new head man at Auburn.
And what a delivery.
All Freeze did was put together a sneaky good staff while bringing Auburn recruiting from nothing to the #16 class in the country (per 247) and brought in the #2 transfer class per On3's rankings. The offensive line grew faster than the Grinch's heart on Christmas Day. Auburn flipped a five star in Keldrik Faulk on signing day and for the first time in what feels like a while, the national media is gushing over what's going on in an Auburn offseason.
And he's only getting started.
Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics
So what now? Should we believe again just because of top-20 recruiting class and a cool new "Yahtzee" catchphrase?
The short answer is simple: yes. Yes indeed.
Any coach who begins recruiting for their school 20 minutes after taking the job is going to have some early returns as a reward for their hard work.
In Auburn history, every time a new coach is hired, a title-contending season is usually not far behind. Tuberville went from jet-gate to undefeated in two years after being relatively new to the job. Chizik coached the team to the promised land in year 2 at the helm, and Gus almost topped them both with a title in year ONE. But the gimmicky plays that powered fluke years are over, as Freeze has demonstrated that his recruiting plan is not just for a miracle season, but for sustained success. At Ole Miss, he wasn't afraid to make changes that were crucial for continuous winning. When he realized that the solution to quarterback after Bo Wallace wasn't on the roster, he took a shortcut rather than frustrating development and got Chad Kelly to come to Oxford, all while recruiting five-star quarterback Shea Patterson to come sit behind him and learn the ropes. That kind of thinking is why Georgia and Alabama are always in the SEC championship. That kind of thinking is now on the Plains. As we wrote here, Hugh Freeze's passing offenses averaged 293 yards per game at Arkansas State, 290 at , and 250 at Liberty. Auburn hasn't seen that kind of passing attack since Jason Campbell.
No, I don't think that we have a huge chance of winning the national championship game in the 2023 season, but if TCU taught us anything, it's that anything can happen, and if there's one thing the 2013 Auburn Tigers taught us, it's not to count out the loveliest village every football season. If there's one thing I do believe- and something we should all look to as Spring practices warm up- It's the statement our own Cadillac Williams made after the victory over Texas A&M
"Auburn football is gonna be ok."
Related Stories
Five expectations for Auburn quarterbacks under Hugh Freeze
Auburn football's projected 2023 depth chart
Guessing Auburn football's starting offensive line for 2023
Bret Bielema takes a shot at Auburn football
Auburn basketball commit Aden Holloway named McDonald's All-American
Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials!
Follow Auburn Daily on Twitter
