Freeze on who will call plays this year

[TeamZero77 1,908]

Just watching the SEC Media Days and Freeze just sat down at the desk to talk with the hosts. First question was about playcalling and Hugh said Derrick Nix will have free reign on 1st down play calling and Kent Austin will call all of the 3rd and long plays because Hugh hates 3rd and long. He said "it's really gonna be who has the hot hand." He said Derrick Nix will be the primary OC. Also, Derrick Nix has never called plays before.

Yesterday I listened to a part of Chuck Oliver's radio show and he had a man on from the Orlando Sentinel. That guy covers Florida and said Billy Napier is gonna be fulltime playcaller this year. The reporter said "I talked to Hugh Freeze earlier just to ask how he thinks Napier will do with playcalling while also being head coach and Hugh told me he thinks it nearly impossible to do both this day and time with all the other responsibilities a coach has. Hugh said he hired Derrick Nix to be his OC and that Nix will handle nearly all of the playcalling with Hugh and their QB coach (Kent Austin) also calling plays as well in certain situations."

Then lastly I go back to the Auburn A-Day game this year. Before the game, the booth interviewed Hugh and ask about playcalling. Hugh said that Nix will be the primary playcaller but if Hugh or Kent Austin is seeing something that they wanna try, then they will be playcaller for a series or so. Hugh said Nix will also be in control of game planning during the week with Kent Austin and Hugh also being in the room about 70% of the time. 

Hugh has mentioned several times this year that he, Kent Austin and Derrick Nix all have the same terminology because we've all worked together. But Nix hasn't coached with Freeze or Kent Austin in 8 years. Nix has coached under Matt Luke and Lane Kiffin since he was last with Freeze. Alot has changed in 8 years.

If y'all remember last year Hugh was asked how playcalling duties worked and he said "When Thorne is in at QB, Montgomery calls the plays. When Robby Ashford is at QB, I call the plays. I can't call plays for Thorne because I don't understand he and Coach Montgomery's terminology." 

Auburn coaches and offensive playcalling. It's been an issue since 2014 and this system Hugh has for this year sounds like it may be confusing as hell.

[arktiger1975 643]

Impossible for the HC to call plays? It sure seemed to work for Steve Spurrier. 

[Auburn93 732]

9 minutes ago, TeamZero77 said:

Just watching the SEC Media Days and Freeze just sat down at the desk to talk with the hosts. First question was about playcalling and Hugh said Derrick Nix will have free reign on 1st down play calling and Kent Austin will call all of the 3rd and long plays because Hugh hates 3rd and long. He said "it's really gonna be who has the hot hand." He said Derrick Nix will be the primary OC. Also, Derrick Nix has never called plays before.

Yesterday I listened to a part of Chuck Oliver's radio show and he had a man on from the Orlando Sentinel. That guy covers Florida and said Billy Napier is gonna be fulltime playcaller this year. The reporter said "I talked to Hugh Freeze earlier just to ask how he thinks Napier will do with playcalling while also being head coach and Hugh told me he thinks it nearly impossible to do both this day and time with all the other responsibilities a coach has. Hugh said he hired Derrick Nix to be his OC and that Nix will handle nearly all of the playcalling with Hugh and their QB coach (Kent Austin) also calling plays as well in certain situations."

Then lastly I go back to the Auburn A-Day game this year. Before the game, the booth interviewed Hugh and ask about playcalling. Hugh said that Nix will be the primary playcaller but if Hugh or Kent Austin is seeing something that they wanna try, then they will be playcaller for a series or so. Hugh said Nix will also be in control of game planning during the week with Kent Austin and Hugh also being in the room about 70% of the time. 

Hugh has mentioned several times this year that he, Kent Austin and Derrick Nix all have the same terminology because we've all worked together. But Nix hasn't coached with Freeze or Kent Austin in 8 years. Nix has coached under Matt Luke and Lane Kiffin since he was last with Freeze. Alot has changed in 8 years.

If y'all remember last year Hugh was asked how playcalling duties worked and he said "When Thorne is in at QB, Montgomery calls the plays. When Robby Ashford is at QB, I call the plays. I can't call plays for Thorne because I don't understand he and Coach Montgomery's terminology." 

Auburn coaches and offensive playcalling. It's been an issue since 2014 and this system Hugh has for this year sounds like it may be confusing as hell.

I think this is another example of AU fans making a big deal out of nothing. Go look at all the other 300 schools, and you will see similar set ups. We are not doing anything unusual. We just want to make it so. The ISSUE has been playing in the SEC with a limited roster, not play calling. 

[au701948 1,047]

12 minutes ago, TeamZero77 said:

Just watching the SEC Media Days and Freeze just sat down at the desk to talk with the hosts. First question was about playcalling and Hugh said Derrick Nix will have free reign on 1st down play calling and Kent Austin will call all of the 3rd and long plays because Hugh hates 3rd and long. He said "it's really gonna be who has the hot hand." He said Derrick Nix will be the primary OC. Also, Derrick Nix has never called plays before.

Yesterday I listened to a part of Chuck Oliver's radio show and he had a man on from the Orlando Sentinel. That guy covers Florida and said Billy Napier is gonna be fulltime playcaller this year. The reporter said "I talked to Hugh Freeze earlier just to ask how he thinks Napier will do with playcalling while also being head coach and Hugh told me he thinks it nearly impossible to do both this day and time with all the other responsibilities a coach has. Hugh said he hired Derrick Nix to be his OC and that Nix will handle nearly all of the playcalling with Hugh and their QB coach (Kent Austin) also calling plays as well in certain situations."

Then lastly I go back to the Auburn A-Day game this year. Before the game, the booth interviewed Hugh and ask about playcalling. Hugh said that Nix will be the primary playcaller but if Hugh or Kent Austin is seeing something that they wanna try, then they will be playcaller for a series or so. Hugh said Nix will also be in control of game planning during the week with Kent Austin and Hugh also being in the room about 70% of the time. 

Hugh has mentioned several times this year that he, Kent Austin and Derrick Nix all have the same terminology because we've all worked together. But Nix hasn't coached with Freeze or Kent Austin in 8 years. Nix has coached under Matt Luke and Lane Kiffin since he was last with Freeze. Alot has changed in 8 years.

If y'all remember last year Hugh was asked how playcalling duties worked and he said "When Thorne is in at QB, Montgomery calls the plays. When Robby Ashford is at QB, I call the plays. I can't call plays for Thorne because I don't understand he and Coach Montgomery's terminology." 

Auburn coaches and offensive playcalling. It's been an issue since 2014 and this system Hugh has for this year sounds like it may be confusing as hell.

Doesn’t sound promising does it?

[TeamZero77 1,908]

1 minute ago, Auburn93 said:

I think this is another example of AU fans making a big deal out of nothing. Go look at all the other 300 schools, and you will see similar set ups. We are not doing anything unusual. We just want to make it so. The ISSUE has been playing in the SEC with a limited roster, not play calling. 

Ok

[Auburn93 732]

8 minutes ago, arktiger1975 said:

Impossible for the HC to call plays? It sure seemed to work for Steve Spurrier. 

The important part of the quote was he thinks it nearly impossible to do both this day and time. Spurrier coached in another day and time.

Edited July 18 by Auburn93

[Auburn93 732]

1 minute ago, au701948 said:

Doesn’t sound promising does it?

It is less complicated than how it reads. 

[TeamZero77 1,908]

Just now, Auburn93 said:

The important part of the quote was "he thinks it nearly impossible to do both this day and time. Spurrier coached in another day and time.

Sarkisian, Josh Heupel, Eli Drinkwitz, Kalen DeBoer, Lane Kiffin, Mike Leach did as well.

Josh Heupel took over a terrible situation at Tennessee but has had a winning record all 3 years, recruits top 10 or 12 and calls all his own plays. And he landed a top QB recruit that will start this year. All those coaches do it but time and time Hugh has said it's nearly impossible. Maybe Hugh struggles with handling stress compared to others, I don't know. He looks completely worn out and several people are mentioning that. This job damn sure isn't Liberty.

[gr82be 14,848]

I’m not the typical naysayer but I’m not optimistic about relying on finding the hot hand mid-game. As transparent as it might be to the players with terminology it just seems the flow of the game will be disrupted.

[gr82be 14,848]

4 minutes ago, Auburn93 said:

It is less complicated than how it reads. 

Hope so. 

[TeamZero77 1,908]

22 minutes ago, gr82be said:

I’m not the typical naysayer but I’m not optimistic about relying on finding the hot hand mid-game. As transparent as it might be to the players with terminology it just seems the flow of the game will be disrupted.

Kinda like last year when he insisted on using both Thorne and Ashford when everybody and their brother could see it was disrupting the offense. Towards the end of last season, Thorne told Philip Marshall that he and Robby were never comfortable in the switching out QB's mid drive and they told Montgomery and Freeze they weren't comfortable but it lasted 3/4 of the season. Thorne said "Me and Robby both have never seen an offense work when you're switching back and forth mid drive." 

Even on this forum, most of us were wondering why he insisted on doing it and in a few cases they had to burn a timeout due to swapping QB's. Square peg, round hole.

Edited July 18 by TeamZero77

[gr82be 14,848]

3 minutes ago, TeamZero77 said:

Kinda like last year when he insisted on using both Thorne and Ashford when everybody and their brother could see it was disrupting the offense. Towards the end of last season, Thorne told Philip Marshall that he and Robby were never comfortable in the switching out QB's mid drive and they told Montgomery and Freeze they weren't comfortable but it lasted 3/4 of the season. Thorne said "Me and Robby both have never seen an offense work when you're switching back and forth mid drive." 

Even on this forum, most of us were wondering why he insisted on doing it and in a few cases they had to burn a timeout due to swapping QB's. Square peg, round hole.

Yep. Some teams have two QBs that can play effectively. That is miles from trying to find out which of your two QBs can jumpstart your team. 

[DAG 34,555]

Playcalling by committee. Auburn loves hiring coaches who do the opposite thing, which got them success in the first place lol. 

[TeamZero77 1,908]

8 minutes ago, gr82be said:

Yep. Some teams have two QBs that can play effectively. That is miles from trying to find out which of your two QBs can jumpstart your team. 

Exactly. Maybe Freeze and Montgomery were chasing a Chris Leak and Tim Tebow combo like the 2006 Florida team but it wasn't happening. 

[fishepa 1,959]

50 minutes ago, Auburn93 said:

It is less complicated than how it reads. 

I hope so because it sounds like a total cluster.

[TeamZero77 1,908]

4 minutes ago, DAG said:

Playcalling by committee. Auburn loves hiring coaches who do the opposite thing, which got them success in the first place lol. 

Yep. A big reason we hired Hugh was his playcalling success. Mainly his redzone playcalling. He has taken a CEO approach, similar to Saban or Brian Kelly, since he got here though. He did say today that he is gonna be more involved in the offensive gameplan during the week compared to last year. He said he will be with the offense about 70% of the week and then the other 30% will be checking in on the defensive gameplan, recruiting, etc. 

Today, Chris Phillips from SEC Unfiltered asked Hugh why he has always been really good at getting his team up in big games as an underdog and Hugh said "truthfully, a weakness of mine is that I should probably gameplan the same way in the games we're a favorite as I do for the big games we're an underdog." That caught my attention because he's got a pattern of beating Bama and Georgia but losing to Vandy, NMSU or UConn. Today is the first time I've ever heard him mention this issue. 

[Sizzle 3,948]

That’s way too much going on, like like Freeze still ain’t learned. If this don’t work I wonder who’s gone be the scapegoat this time?

[cbo 8,556]

Relax guys, it’s just like last year. Hugh will call the good plays and the other guys will call the bad ones. 

[JDUBB4AU 5,197]

21 minutes ago, cbo said:

Relax guys, it’s just like last year. Hugh will call the good plays and the other guys will call the bad ones. 

This. Hugh spent most of last year undermining Montgomery and making it public. 

[JuscAUse! 1,630]

I'm not saying anyone that has posted is wrong or right. But if I remember correctly, Nix has to be a "play caller" somewhere in his buyout. I may be wrong about that, but if it was and AU could get sued, do you actually stand up and say , 'yeah, I'm calling plays' ? Yeah the potential law suit would be frivolous, but paying the lawyer would be serious as heck. Just a thought. 

[gr82be 14,848]

1 hour ago, JuscAUse! said:

I'm not saying anyone that has posted is wrong or right. But if I remember correctly, Nix has to be a "play caller" somewhere in his buyout. I may be wrong about that, but if it was and AU could get sued, do you actually stand up and say , 'yeah, I'm calling plays' ? Yeah the potential law suit would be frivolous, but paying the lawyer would be serious as heck. Just a thought. 

That was circulating when he was hired so you have a point. 

[CoffeeTiger 5,843]

3 hours ago, TeamZero77 said:

. 

Today, Chris Phillips from SEC Unfiltered asked Hugh why he has always been really good at getting his team up in big games as an underdog and Hugh said "truthfully, a weakness of mine is that I should probably gameplan the same way in the games we're a favorite as I do for the big games we're an underdog." That caught my attention because he's got a pattern of beating Bama and Georgia but losing to Vandy, NMSU or UConn. Today is the first time I've ever heard him mention this issue. 

Thanks for this quote. I sure hope Hugh is taking This to heart. 
 

one knock against Freeze that I’ve had from the beginning is that almost every single year he’s been a head ball coach…anywhere he’s been…he seems to lose at least one game every season to an underdog opponent. 
 

 

[abw0004 10,244]

12 hours ago, JuscAUse! said:

I'm not saying anyone that has posted is wrong or right. But if I remember correctly, Nix has to be a "play caller" somewhere in his buyout. I may be wrong about that, but if it was and AU could get sued, do you actually stand up and say , 'yeah, I'm calling plays' ? Yeah the potential law suit would be frivolous, but paying the lawyer would be serious as heck. Just a thought. 

That’s correct. Nix has to at least call some plays this season, which we have all known since we stole Nix from Ole Miss.  

[au701948 1,047]

Maybe we could just opt for a second coin toss after the start of the game coin toss. Whoever wins the second toss gets to call plays🥺

[DAG 34,555]

3 hours ago, abw0004 said:

That’s correct. Nix has to at least call some plays this season, which we have all known since we stole Nix from Ole Miss.  

him calling plays is not the issue. It is the manner of the playcalling that seems to be the issue. Hopefully it is just coach fodder.