One would think that with the football season fast approaching, Hugh Freeze’s sole focus would be on the Auburn Tigers, especially in these key months of the recruiting game. Apparently not, as it’s been reported that Freeze’s main interest these days has been golf.
Freeze is by far the SEC coach who has played the most golf this summer, according to AL.com. At the same time, the Tigers have fallen in the recruitment game, which has garnered criticisms of the coach’s pastime.
One of these came last week, as Mike Bratton, the host of the “SEC Podcast”, said the following about the Auburn Tigers on the “Paul Finebaum Show” when the host of the show asked about Freeze’s golf shenanigans:
“It’s going to be interesting how he can blame this one on Payton Thorne, but I think he’ll find a way. But no, seriously… At least we are not talking about his football program, which has about as much momentum as the Titanic right now,” Said Bratton on Friday (1:58)
According to AL.com, three blue chip prospects decommitted from Auburn in the last two weeks due to worries about the time the coach has spent golfing. According to CBS Sports, Hugh Freeze has played so much golf in 2025 that he exceeds the number of rounds that USGA’s GHIN database can show publicly. This means he has played at least 20 rounds this year.
Hugh Freeze on the expectations that he has coming into 2025
In early June, Hugh Freeze opened up about the progress at Auburn since his arrival. Speaking with ESPN, he told the network that he feels much better coming into 2025 about the talent in the roster, but that he understands that the program has let slip some potential big wins over the last few years. He also said that he understands that if he doesn’t win, the clock will start ticking for his time with the Tigers:
“The people here at Auburn have been great,” Freeze said. “I mean, there’s nothing that would ever surprise me in this league, but we’ve got to go compete and be good enough to win some of those games this year that we haven’t in the past two.
“I’m not naïve.”
The Tigers have the No. 7 incoming class in football for 2025, according to ESPN. If one inputs transferees, that improves to No. 3. However, leads like this can slip easily, which is why three top recruits de-committing is so worrisome. On the other hand, a school can have a talent-filled roster, and fail to make a great season, as the Texas A&M Aggies have shown time and time again.
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