2/3/23 Auburn Articles

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Hugh Freeze’s play-calling days aren’t behind him just yet

Updated: Feb. 02, 2023, 4:29 p.m.|Published: Feb. 02, 2023, 4:26 p.m.

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Hugh Freeze will have some help when it comes to calling Auburn’s offense this fall, but the Tigers’ new head coach isn’t completing ceding play-calling duties entering Year 1.

During his introductory press conference in late November, Freeze entertained the idea of giving up play-calling as he takes over on the Plains, and while new offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery will handle primary play-calling duties for Auburn, Freeze will still have a say — particularly in certain situations.

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“I’m still going to call a share of them, depending on what that looks like — probably more in the warp-tempo world,” Freeze said Thursday. “We really don’t know exactly what it looks like, but I know that I have great confidence in Philip as a play-caller, and I have great confidence in he and Kent (Austin, offensive analyst) and Jake (Thornton, offensive line coach) and Ben (Aigamaua, tight ends coach) and Cadillac (Williams, running backs coach) and Marcus (Davis, wide receivers coach) and those guys that we brought to help formulate a gameplan, should I need to be elsewhere making sure that our program is right.”

Freeze is prioritizing the other aspects of being a head coach in the current landscape of college football, particularly as it pertains to recruiting, NIL and overseeing the day-to-day of the program as he works to rebuild it and implement his culture. He doesn’t believe it’s in the best interest of the program for him to have complete control of the offense — not with so many other responsibilities on his plate — but as a career play-caller dating back to his days as a high school coach in Tennessee, it’s understandable that Freeze would have a hard time completely letting go of that aspect of the job, even with a veteran play-caller like Montgomery overseeing the offense.

Montgomery, who was Tulsa’s head coach for the last eight seasons and before that was a successful coordinator at Baylor under Art Briles, had discussions with Freeze about their dynamic before accepting the job. The two share similar offensive philosophies, which helps, and as a former head coach himself, Montgomery has a perspective that has been shaped by the understanding of what that role entails compared to being solely an offensive coordinator.

“As we sat down and started talking about all of those scenarios and what that looked like, I think that’s why it was important for him to find somebody that had the same mindsets that he did, the same type of philosophy background that he had, to try to make that transition as smoothly as possible,” Montgomery said. “And so those conversations went really well for us, and we were able to kind of build and move forward from there.”

The two clicked pretty quickly during those conversations, and Montgomery jumped on board as Auburn’s offensive coordinator, bringing with him 29 years of experience on that side of the ball, including eight as a college coordinator and eight more as a head coach.

“I think we’re all a product of our experiences, and then obviously Philip having a vast amount of those is always helpful,” Freeze said. “…When you’re the primary play-caller, there’s a lot of times you feel like you need to be on the defensive channel, as a head coach and aware of, oh, we need a timeout here. But you’re also torn because you need to be on the headset saying, ‘Guys, what the heck are we going to do on the next series to fix this?’ So, I think, obviously Philip’s experiences are great, but ultimately the game management part rests on me, and I think that will also help me be more in-tune in the moment of things we need to do, we really need to slow this down. Sometimes, when you’re the play-caller and you feel like, ‘Look, I know what we can do right now,’ that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what’s best for the entire team.

“I think that I — when you’re calling it and you feel like this is what’s best for us to move the ball, is that the best thing for the team at that moment? I’m not sure. So, I think his experience is going to be helpful, but also I just think that’s another positive of me having people that have a great ability to do that.”

While Montgomery will handle primary play-calling and Freeze will have his areas and moments of specific decision-making on that front, the two expect to be on the same page with their offensive approach for Auburn this season.

“I think Coach and I have the same philosophy now because there’s going to be opportunities where we want to call like our hair’s on fire,” Montgomery said. “And there’s going to be other opportunities where we want to be able to control the tempo.”

Of course, there will be a learning curve as the two familiarize themselves with each others’ offensive philosophies and try to mesh their systems to create Auburn’s scheme for the upcoming season.

“Philip and I are trying to marry two systems — they’re very similar, we believe in the same things, but it’s a lot of different ways to get to them, and a lot of different things to call them,” Freeze said. “Somebody’s got to learn a new world, and I truthfully have called the offense that we’ve run pretty much the same verbiage since I was a high school coach, and so you’re taking 30 years of me calling this ‘cat,’ and he wants to call it ‘dog,’ which I’m really open, believe it or not. I’m really open to new ways. I just want to do what’s best, but it is a learning curve.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

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'Auburn sells itself': Hugh Freeze talks recruiting, culture, spring practice

Auburn University Athletics

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AUBURN, Ala. – Three weeks from the start of spring practice, Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze and his assistants are fine-tuning the schemes and systems they'll teach the Tigers beginning Feb. 27.

In his first two months on the job, Freeze focused primarily on recruiting, scouring the transfer portal and signing Auburn's 2023 class while making inroads with prospective student-athletes in the classes of '24 and '25.  

"The one thing I knew about Auburn is I felt like Auburn sells itself," Freeze said. "If it has someone leading with a vision that people can see and buy in. I do think I have a gift to be able to say, 'Here's what my vision is for you individually and for us collectively as the Auburn football family.'

"If you can get them campus, to come and see, I think they can sense the energy and a feel about this place that is attractive to a lot of players. I come in with a pretty strong belief that we can get something done."

When assembling his staff, Freeze hired assistants whose strengths complement the areas in which he says he needs help.

"One of the things that I do feel very strongly about is the ability to take a group of people, formulate a staff, and say this is the direction we're going in," he said. "It only works if we all are talking alike, believing the same, and are moving in that same direction.  

"One of the reasons we've been able to turn programs around really fast is because of that."

When it's time to install Auburn's offense and defense, Freeze will prioritize quality over quantity.

"I don't care if we have just three install days and the rest are just us getting better at those three things," said Freeze, echoing the same theme on defense.

"I don't care if we get two fronts in. Let's get all of those things down and let's go get the ball and take the ball away. Defensively, we must play hard, we must be physical and we must tackle well."

It's been nonstop since day one, but nothing new for someone who grew up on a Mississippi dairy farm, milking cows 365 mornings each year while playing sports after school.

"Never took a break," he said. "I guess that's why I'm a morning guy now. I don't like staying up late at night and I get up really early in morning. We learned hard work. I value the lessons that I learned."

During a recent team meeting Freeze challenged the Tigers to be about team success over individual rewards.

"You have to decide what your identity is going to be," he said. "If you don't get this settled, it's going to be a wrestling match that wins against you time and time again, if your identity is only tied up in what I do or what I get.

"I'm praying and hoping that we can make Auburn different to where the culture we cultivate here, and their value and identity, is gotten from who they're becoming on the journey."

'I come in with a pretty strong belief that we can get something done'

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer

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247sports.com

 

Auburn's top 2023 recruit good to go for spring practices

Nathan King

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AUBURN, Alabama — The biggest fish in Auburn's 2023 class will be ready for spring practices.

Early enrollee Keldric Faulk played through a wrist issue his senior season at Highland Home High School, then had minor work done after the year. He'd been in a wrist cast and a sling for the first few weeks of Auburn's winter workouts, but his new defensive line coach said Faulk isn't expected to miss time once spring practices kick off Feb. 27.

"He'll be available for practice," Jeremy Garrett said during a chat with reporters Thursday.

Faulk was a huge target for Auburn's previous staff but committed to Florida State in July. Once Hugh Freeze and company arrived, though, they picked things back up, as Garrett and Zac Etheridge didn't accept defeat on the No. 9 in-state player.

On signing day, just a few weeks after meeting Garrett, Faulk flipped to Auburn and became the top-rated prospect in Freeze's first class.

"He’s an Auburn man — we knew that from the beginning," Garrett said. "We just had to give him a reason to fall in love with it again. I felt like he always wanted to be here, we just had to recruit him hard and give him a reason to come. That way he trusts us. The whole staff, the whole building, did a great job of showing his mom and himself and the family that this is the place where he can grow and develop and this is a place that needs you as a cornerstone piece to help build this front.”

A top-75 recruit and the No. 10 defensive lineman in the country, per the 247Sports Composite ratings, Faulk clocked in at 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds last month at the Army All-American Bowl. Garrett said he expects the true freshman to play both defensive end and Auburn's new "Jack" pass-rusher spot.

"He can play multiple spots," Garrett said. "It's good to have guys who can come in and do both."

Auburn can use the all the help it can get along the defensive front in 2023, with pass-rushers Derick Hall, Eku Leota and Marcus Bragg all gone, as is star defensive tackle Colby Wooden. In addition to Faulk, Auburn added former LSU commit Darron Reed in the 2023 class, and also picked up transfers Justin Rogers from Kentucky, Mosiah Nasili-Kite from Maryland and Lawrence Johnson from Purdue.

"You want to have a really good rotation and play as many guys as you can so those guys can play extremely hard and be violent and make plays for you the entire year," Garrett said. "That’s the thing I want recruits to see is ‘hey, we’re going to play as many as can play.’ If that’s eight or nine, however many guys that can play, I’ll roll you in and we’ll find a role for you.”

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Garrett says newcomers will provide a 'huge boost' for Auburn's defensive line

Jason Caldwell

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AUBURN, Alabama—While the offensive line has been a big issue for the Auburn Tigers for several seasons because of a lack of depth and recruiting, the defensive line has been a position of strength for the program for much of the last decade. However, that changed during the Bryan Harsin era with transfers following the 2021 season and guys like Derick Hall, Colby Wooden and Eku Leota taking their shot at the NFL.

It forced Hugh Freeze and new defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett to hit the ground running to finish off the 2023 recruiting class, not only from the high school ranks but also junior college and the transfer portal.

“I think we added some good pieces to the room,” Garrett said. “We added some good depth to the room. We added some experience to the room, and we have some talented young guys as well. I’m just really excited about what we added and I think we added the right people for our culture, guys who are going to come in and work and want to earn their spot. That’s good.”

The results were astonishing. When Bryan Harsin was fired on October 31, Auburn had just two defensive line commitments in Wilky Denaud and edge Ashley Williams. Williams later decommited from the Tigers and wound up at Iowa State, leaving just one holdover from Harsin’s recruiting on the defensive line for the entire class.

Auburn started the turnaround on the defensive line under interim coach Cadillac Williams when the Tigers got a commitment from 4-star Darron Reed, but things took off when Freeze and Garrett got on the Plains.

Adding Brenton Williams, Stephon Johnson and Stephen Johnson from the high school ranks before flipping 4-star FSU commitment Keldric Faulk on signing day, Auburn got a huge head start towards the future with a very solid prep class. They added to that with junior college signee Quientrail Jamison-Travis, but maybe the biggest work was done in the transfer portal.

Looking for big, athletic bodies with experience at the highest levels, Auburn added big bodies Justin Rogers from Kentucky, Lawrence Johnson from Purdue, Mosiah Nasili-Kite from Maryland and edge Elijah McAllister from Vanderbilt to provide an opportunity for immediate help up front for the Tigers.

“That’s a huge boost,” Garrett said of their experience. “You’re expecting those guys to come in and contribute immediately. The main thing is those guys are coming in and we added to the group already here. We were like ‘let’s build our room that’s a competitive room. Let’s get as good as we can get.’ I want guys coming in knowing ‘I can’t take a day off, I can’t take a play off, because the guy next to me is ready to go also.’ I think that’s how you build a room and build a competition. At the same time, I want those guys to be together. It’s a competition, but we are one unit. When we sub guys in and out, there shouldn’t be any downfall. It should just keep going and being productive.”

Competition is the key word for Garrett as he looks to build his defensive line room. That means guys pushing each other everyday to get better. That’s something that should push Auburn’s defensive line towards the ultimate goal of having wave after wave of players ready to go, something that was an issue up front the last two seasons.

Far too often under Harsin, Auburn teams ran out of gas in the fourth quarter because of lack of developed depth on the defensive line. Garrett said that’s something that is a big deal to him.

“We wanted those guys to be mid-year type guys as much as possible that could get in and learn the system and work,” Garrett said. “It’s just critical to have depth in the SEC. I played in the SEC and if you have guys that are taking 70 snaps or sometimes more in a game, that’s not good. Over the course of the season they’re going to be beat down. You want to have a really good rotation and play as many guys as you can so those guys can play extremely hard and be violent and make plays for you the entire year. That’s the thing I want recruits to see is ‘hey, we’re going to play as many as can play.’ If that’s eight or nine, however many guys that can play, I’ll roll you in and we’ll find a role for you.”

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With spring practices starting on February 27, Garrett said the next order of business is to see what everyone brings to the table on the field. Before that happens, first they have to show it off the field and in the weight room. That’s the first step toward getting into the playing rotation, but sooner or later the cream will rise to the top. That’s what he’s anxious to see.

“The first thing I would say, he’s got to show up and put the work in,” Garrett said. “I watch everything. I want to see how they workout. I want to get that report from Dom (Dominic Studzinski) and see their work ethic in the weight room, guys who are willing to strain. Obviously the physical traits, you want guys with some twitch that can create knock-back and be violent and get off blocks. I would say the identity I want to have when you turn on the tape and watch our defensive line is that they play fast, they play physical, and they play together as a unit. The tape don’t lie. I tell the guys that’s our resumé. I want them to put that on display. The guys that do that can play for me.”

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Why Auburn coach Hugh Freeze finds lists distracting

Updated: Feb. 02, 2023, 4:01 p.m.|Published: Feb. 02, 2023, 3:46 p.m.

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AUBURN, AL - February 02, 2023 - Auburn Head Coach Hugh Freeze during press conference at the Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, AL. Photo by Austin PerrymanAustin Perryman / AU Athletics

Hugh Freeze isn’t a fan of lists, particularly the ones that come across his desk at Auburn’s new football complex.

Auburn’s first-year coach hasn’t been in his office much since taking over the program at the end of November — the last two months have been consumed by a flurry of recruiting, traveling and staff assembly — but this week he finally got a chance to settle into his new digs as the Tigers turn their attention to preparation for spring practices, which begin Feb. 27. With plenty still to do between now and then, the last thing Freeze wants is a distraction. And to him, that’s what the lists that come his way are representative of.

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“If you’re showing up on a lot of lists, it’s not a good sign,” Freeze said Thursday. “That distracts me, and I don’t care for it very much at all.”

The lists—which Freeze refers to as his “distraction lists” — are ultimately about accountability within the program. Players’ names will appear on a list, prepared by other staffers within the building, for various reasons — parking tickets, academic issues and any other infraction or slip-up that can cause disruption or concern.

It’s why Freeze hates to see them come across his desk at any point; it just creates one more thing to worry about, and as it stands, the Tigers’ new coach doesn’t have time to spare with a seemingly endless list of things to accomplish this offseason. Freeze made clear that there haven’t been an abundance of names appear on those lists to this point, and he hopes to keep it that way as attention is turned to winter workouts and the lead-up to spring practice.

“I don’t understand, man,” Freeze said. “I don’t understand how hard it is to park in the right spot, or to be on time. And I’m not saying that ours are dealing with that a lot right now, but I’d rather it be zero, truthfully.”

Especially when Freeze has yet to have an opportunity to sit down with every player for individual meetings and get to know them. His last two months have been a nonstop marathon of recruiting—the early signing period, the first transfer portal window, making inroads with high school programs throughout the state and region, hosting junior day on campus last weekend—and putting together his first staff. Wednesday was his first full day in his office since taking the job, and he hopes to meet one-on-one with players next week as he better familiarizes himself with the roster he inherited as spring practice rapidly approaches.

“I’m just listening and watching but looking forward to getting to know our team, truthfully,” Freeze said. “It’s one of the most uncomfortable things about transition right now, and the way you have to recruit is you don’t get to know your guys, so I’m excited to get to know them. Next week will be a big week for that.”

As Freeze gets to know his players better, though, they’ll likewise get to know the first-year coach — and certainly his disdain for “distraction lists” — as he tries to rebuild a program that went 11-14 the last two years and implement his vision and the way to go about instilling it.

“I just think they’ve got to understand the whole makeup of what it is,” Freeze said. “You’re going to get coached hard, but that doesn’t mean we don’t believe in you. And you can’t blink when something negative happens. We’ve got to play the next play. So again, all of this talk that I’m doing — is it total reality? I don’t know, because I haven’t coached them a single rep yet. But I think what I’m saying to them is truth.

“And they’ve been they’ve been incredible to visit with. And I’m being very honest with them, and they’re being honest with me, and I’m excited about spring ball with them.”

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Why Auburn football's Cadillac Williams wanted USF transfer RB Brian Battie

Richard Silva

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AUBURN — When Auburn football recruiting assistant Ty Holder showed Carnell "Cadillac" Williams some film on South Florida transfer Brian Battie, the running backs coach wanted to get him on campus.

And on Jan. 9, the Tigers landed a commitment from the 5-foot-8 playmaker out of the backfield.

"First of all, the speed, the explosiveness," Williams said of what impressed him about Battie. "But I love the fact that the first guy, he either made him miss or he broke the tackle. The first guy is never going to bring him down or tackle him. And then also, I know he's a smaller guy, but he's a natural runner between the tackles.

"Like he's a running back. He is a football player. He's a guy that understands leverage and angles. A guy that's going to break tackles. And he's strong, he's very competitive and he wants to be one of the best. We are getting a complete back that can do it all with him."

QUARTERBACK SITUATION:Hugh Freeze on Auburn football adding a transfer QB: 'I'll know more after spring practice'

PLAY-CALLING DUTIES:Why Auburn football's Hugh Freeze isn't calling plays for first time as a head coach

Battie's father, Tommie, told the Montgomery Advertiser in January that Williams wants to get Battie more involved in the passing game. Battie caught 14 passes for 91 yards at South Florida in 2022.

"To me, that'd take our offense to a different level because now you can have a guy like that, put him in the slot or even bring him out the backfield where now he's matched up on guys he's more athletic than. He should win. ... So, if he can add that component ... he becomes even more valuable," Williams said.

Battie rushed for 1,186 yards and eight touchdowns in his junior season with the Bulls in 2022. He was also a consensus All-American kick returner as a sophomore, logging 650 yards and three scores on 20 returns.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

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Hugh Freeze on Auburn football adding a transfer QB: 'I'll know a lot more after spring practice'

Richard Silva, Montgomery Advertiser

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AUBURN — Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze told media in December he was interested in adding a transfer quarterback under certain conditions.

"If it's the right one that we believe we can win games with," he said of combing the portal for a QB. "We've gone back and forth on our rankings of them and we're kind of looking at that list right now and in conversations with the next man up. Hopefully, we'll get the right one."

Fast forward six weeks and the Tigers haven't acquired one.

"We entertained a few quarterbacks, in my mind, in the first portal window, but never felt great about many," Freeze said Thursday. "There were a couple that we did, but they didn't pan out for whatever reason here at Auburn, and I was OK with that, honestly. I'm excited to work with the ones we have."

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Auburn returns three quarterbacks who got on the field last season: Robby Ashford, Holden Geriner and T.J. Finley. Ashford started the final nine games after Finley started the first three. Geriner saw action against Missouri when Ashford got hurt and Finley was out with an injury.

Asked again about bringing in a portal quarterback, Freeze wasn't definitive in his response.

"I think I'll know a lot more after spring practice," he said. "Truthfully, when I watched the cut-ups that I've watched, man, it's hard. It's hard for me to adequately judge quarterbacks if they're not afforded the opportunity to stand in the pocket and make reads and make different throws for a decent percentage of time.

"The sample size for that is pretty small if they weren't under some type of duress, or maybe it was more of a move-the-pocket scheme. So, I'm anxious to get into spring and kind of see how they handle that, and then I'll go from there with what we do in the second portal window."

That second window for players to enter the portal is from May 1-15. Until then, the quarterbacks on Auburn's roster will have a chance to prove to Freeze that his starter is already on campus.

"I think it's impossible for you to be a great quarterback and not assume the role as a leader," Freeze said. "Well, what does that look like? It certainly doesn't look like that there's no one in that locker room that wants to follow you. And it certainly doesn't look like someone who gets rattled every time something doesn't go exactly right. ... That's not what my SEC quarterback's gonna be."

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.