Auburn HC Hugh Freeze: 'We’re really not through anywhere' after massive Early Signing Day
The residents of Auburn, Ala. woke up to a “hard Freeze alert” from the Weather channel; although the warning had nothing to do with the university’s imminent early signing day class, the foreshadowing was nothing short of poetic.
After being named head coach of the Tigers on Nov. 28, Hugh Freeze vaulted the program’s singing class from a low 50s ranking nationally to the top 20 with specific placement varying from site-to-site.
“We’ve been able to, in a short amount of time, depending on what you look at…go from somewhere like 60th to whatever we are today,” Freeze said. “I’ve seen 20th, 19, 16. I never know exactly what those mean, but we’re somewhere in that ballpark.”
The first-year head coach tipped his cap to the likes of Carnell Williams and Zac Etheridge, commending them for their efforts in retaining commitments in a state of uncertainty.
“They deserve a ton of credit for hanging us in the fight until we could get what these families appeared to have some stability and some direction and some vision for our program,” Freeze said. “So I’m thankful for those guys. They were faithful to the Auburn family and held us in there with a lot of guys.”
Between the extensive work put in by the previously employed members of his staff and the group’s ability to make a slew of late pushes, Freeze was pleased with the strides his program made – on both sides of the ball – throughout the early portion of the signing day.
“Thought we really did well with the DB room and made some dents in our needs in the offensive line room,” Freeze said. “Edge guys, I thought we did really well with. On defense interior, we still have a little work to do; we left some work to do on the O-line, we’re not through there.”
While the Tigers successfully added a slew of talent, no additions provided more momentum than the group’s implementation of “flipmas.
Originally committed to Ohio State, corner Kayin Lee made his commitment to the Tigers on national signing day; Freeze noted the significant nature of the acquisition.
“Kayin Lee, man, what a big-time get there,” Freeze said. “Flipping him from Ohio State out of Georgia.”
Lee was not the only commit who was swayed from his original pledge by the orange and blue; rather, he was the tip of the iceberg.
Defensive lineman Keldrick Faulk spent a wealth of time with the Auburn coaching staff in the waning days of his recruitment process, ultimately decommitting from Florida State and pledging the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.
“Keldrick Faulk, man what a battle,” Freeze said. “I probably spent more time on this one than any. Just love this kid, love his family…so thrilled that they decided to trust in the vision here and to join us.”
Although the 6-foot-5 Highland Home, Ala. native required the most attention from Freeze and company, the Tigers’ new face of the porgram was sure to mention the battle he fought to flip four-star center Connor Lew from Miami.
“Connor Lew, one of the best centers in America out of high school, that was a hard task there,” Freeze said. “To convince them that this vision here and the stability now, he was ready to come. It took us a while, but he and his family came on another visit and it was awesome to get them.”
Between high school signees and transfer portal additions, Auburn’s inking of 19 players provided much-needed momentum as the program prepares for spring ball; Freeze said they are far from done with roster improvements.
“We’re really not through anywhere,” Freeze said. “We still have some big targets out there that, hopefully, we can close on either now or in the second wave when we hit the road when we get back in January or the early visits in January.”
In large, the jury is still out on the current direction of the Auburn football program; however, if today’s results are any implication, it’s difficult to envision a scenario in which Freeze’s staff pumps the brakes on the recruiting trail.
Some other Auburn signings from Early Signing Day
Bradyn Joiner signs with Auburn
Stephen Johnson signs with Auburn
Tyler Johnson signs with Auburn
Sylvester Smith signs with Auburn
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