Takeaways from Hugh Freeze's season-opening press conference
Today marks the beginning of a new era on The Plains as Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze delivered his first in-season press conference five days before the season opener against the UMass Minutemen. Coach Freeze was transparent with his comments about his teams preparedness and his opponents soon to be across the field from him, with high praise for the coaching prowess of Don Brown.
Here are some takeaways from what Coach Freeze had to say about our beloved Auburn Tigers ahead of the UMass game.
Coach Freeze began the press conference highlighting his excitement with the 2023 football season is finally underway, commenting that, “we think our kids are ready and our staff is ready and that he is ready to have his first experience running out on to the field at Jordan-Hare.” He noted the amount of pressure that comes with that task - however, if his off-season performance is an indicator of anything, he will surely rise to the occasion and handle that pressure with poise and grace.
He was asked how he approached mentally preparing the team for this moment considering all the hours of coaching and teaching that have transpired since last November. "This is something we have tried to instill since we have been here, our theme has been flip the script which is rewiring your mind in how you prepare for the 12 opportunities we are given,” Freeze said. This comment speaks volumes about the “cultural buy-in” that Freeze has frequently discussed with the press since his arrival in wanting to create the right “passion” and “drive to do things right” across the entire team.
Coach Freeze was then asked how he felt the run game was performing, considering the results of the Spring and Fall camps. The Tigers looked really strong earlier in the year, and reports out of fall camp indicate that it's going to be a strength of the team. "We will find out more on Saturday as to if we are an effective team at running the football against other opponents or has our defense made them look that good,” Freeze said.
When asked about the depth in the room, Freeze responded bluntly. "The facts are that if you can run the ball, you can shorten the game, and that may be advantageous to us this year," Freeze said.
When asked about the new pieces meaning the numerous transfer additions to the roster and how they would fit into the puzzle, Coach Freeze responded with “we are going to play all those pieces who have earned the right for that opportunity, and what they do with that opportunity will determine exactly how big a piece of the puzzle they actually are.” Indicating that the transfer additions are going to be given the chance to play and see where they will fall in the roster and rotation as we progress through the season.
Coach Freeze expanded on this further commenting that “if you go out there and rush for 150-yards you’re going to earn the chance for more carries, and if you go out there and pass at a high completion percentage, you’re going to earn the chance to throw the ball more” highlighting a merit-based system much needed on the plains.
When asked about the competency of his upcoming opponent with the UMass Minutemen and their abysmal performance on the field last season, Coach Freeze was adamant that despite their low ranking, UMass was a well coached team. “I have played them the last four years and I have seen drastic improvement of their team under the leadership of Coach Brown," Freeze said. “I have great respect for Coach Don Brown, and I feel that he was one of the greatest defensive minds in the country”. Coach Freeze highlighted that despite an “atrocious” season last year the Minutemen had a “top-10” defense in the country and since then have added some 27 transfer players from power five programs through the portal this off-season.
Coach Freeze expressed that during the game against New Mexico State their defense was able to create ample amounts of pressure to force turnovers and then capitalize on these turnovers to the tune of 21 points. Coach Freeze candidly stated that “their defense is chaotic and will create negative plays at times… they have our full attention, and we need to prepare for them."
Freeze also had praise for a handful of UMass defenders, identifying DE Marcus Bradley, cornerback Jordan Mahoney, and linebacker Jerry Roberts Jr. as players that "could all easily play at the power five level." Freeze also highlighted QB Taisun Phommachanh, RB Kay’ron Lynch-Adams, and WRs George Johnson III and Anthony Simpson. "We’ve got our hands full I believe that, and it will not be an easy opener, it’s going to challenge us," Freeze said.
In being asked about returning to the SEC atmosphere Coach Freeze took the time to highlight the electric atmosphere that is Jordan-Hare. "I haven't ever coached for a team with such a passionate fan base,” Freeze said. "I will take a moment to take that all in."
Freeze was asked about quarterback Payton Thorne and what he's seen out of him in camp that he liked. “Paying attention to every single detail,” Freeze said. With Thorne being a graduate student, Freeze noted that Thorne simply has more time to work on football related things, but that he's really impressed regardless.
With offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery taking over play calling for Freeze, many are curious as to how the Tigers will balance their offense. “I'm never going to change my belief and I believe to be successful you have to be a threat to run the football," Freeze said.
To sum up this press conference in short, Coach Freeze has brought a candor and transparency to the press room the likes that we have never seen before, and the Auburn family should expect to see much more of this as the season progresses. Coach Freeze has firmly established his credibility as the right leader for this team and I am genuinely excited to see how this season progresses into SEC Conference play by the end of September. War Eagle!
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