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The Auburn Tigers are off to a 2-4 start while the team currently rides a three-game losing skid. Hugh Freeze suggests things could get worse before they get better should his players not fully buy in.
The coach has accused Auburn’s rivals of tampering just six games into the season as they look to poach any contributors with one eye on the transfer portal.
The Tigers have struggled mightily in their ’24 campaign, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Turnovers and inconsistency continue to plague the unit, which has shot itself in the foot time and again.
Those mistakes certainly made the difference in losses to Cal and Oklahoma with Auburn losing the turnover battle 5-0 while falling by a combined 13 points. We could be having a very different conversation about Hugh Freeze’s progress if those issues had been cleaned up.
Freeze knows they’re close to where he wants to be.
“We’ve got to, as coaches, figure out how to coach [players] harder and make sure we don’t make critical errors to win a football game… I keep saying, ‘We’re not that far off.'”
-Hugh Freeze after a loss to Georgia
The Tigers truly are a few plays away from being 4-2 and on their way to a bowl game. The execution just hasn’t been there.
Freeze has made sure to point those mistakes out as he continuously places blame on the players.
After losses to both Cal and Arkansas, he insisted that play calling and gameplan were near-perfect. His team just didn’t do what it was supposed to.
A similar response followed the most recent loss to Georgia.
While players are ultimately responsible for executing the calls, his habit of singling out players and highlighting their mistakes to the media have rubbed many the wrong way.
Could it lead to a few Auburn transfers?
Hugh Freeze says his rivals are already trying their best to recruit his roster!
Hugh Freeze says roster tampering has “already started” this season.
— Nathan King (@NathanKing247) October 9, 2024
And there’s talent to be stolen despite the on-field struggles. Auburn brought in a Top 10 recruiting class last season headlined by 5-star WR Cam Coleman.
Freeze claims that suitors have been reaching out to gauge his players’ potential interest in leaving the Plains.
It’s an issue college football coaches are having to deal with in the NIL and transfer portal era, made even more difficult by a recent trend that’s beginning to sweep through the sport.
Those unhappy with NIL situation or their spot on the depth chart are now choosing to use their redshirt midway through the year while reopening their recruitment at season’s end.
Auburn hasn’t dealt with the issue this year, but it’s not due to a lack of trying by poachers!