Auburn introduces Hugh Freeze: 'No other place I want to be'

AUBURN, Ala. – A half-hour after his introductory news conference concluded, Hugh Freeze talked X's and O's with Auburn’s quarterback.

As Freeze ended an interview with the Voice of the Auburn Tigers, Andy Burcham, Robby Ashford entered the Creel Family Player Development Lab at the Woltosz Football Performance Center to speak to his new coach.

On his way to a photo shoot amid a whirlwind day one itinerary, Freeze stopped to chat, explaining where Ashford should go with the ball on a certain play depending on how the safety lines up and reacts. 

“I do think I have a gift to help develop quarterbacks,” said Freeze, who helped former Auburn QB Malik Willis become a third-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. “If you look at everywhere we’ve been, we’ve had pretty good success with that. I’m very anxious to get to work with not only [Robby], he’s a tremendous athlete, but I think there are other good players in that room too.”

In addition to assembling his coaching staff and his inaugural Auburn recruiting and transfer classes, Freeze will oversee the transition into the program’s new facility as he seeks reverse the Tigers’ trajectory after consecutive non-winning seasons.  

“I think we can turn it fairly fast with the new world we’re in because I believe with the commitment that has been shown by our fans, boosters and administration to invest in things like this that matter in recruiting,” he said.

Freeze joins Auburn after four seasons at Liberty, where he led the Flames to an average of 8.5 wins per year.

“The culture is going to be the same that we’ve created,” he said. “I know that it works, and it wins. That’s the lesson I probably learned is just keep working to earn people’s trust. When your commitment to something is greater than your feelings, that’s when you really get the results that you want.”

Growing up on a dairy farm in northwest Mississippi, Freeze arose before sunrise to milk cows before school, instilling in him the work ethic that helped him climb the coaching ranks from high school to the SEC.

“My parents, they're the hardest-working people I've ever known,” he said. “My dad's full of toughness. My mom's full of grace. I learned hard work and toughness from him and love and compassion from my mom.”

Freeze outlined the core values on which he’ll build Auburn’s program with an acrostic that would make a Southern Baptist preacher proud, with the first letter of each forming the word ‘family.’

“Faith in the essence of you have to believe in something bigger than yourself to be a great football team or to be a great university or to be a great family,” he said. “It's really not about you. You can't run fast enough. You're not strong enough to do it alone, so you have to have faith in someone bigger than yourself.

“Attitude is how we talk to ourselves. The Auburn family here and the Auburn players, they've heard enough of what's not going right and why we're not winning. It really matters about what we believe about us in the Auburn team room.

“Mental toughness. We must have it. It's the secret sauce. Very few people have it. It takes tremendous mental toughness to get up every morning, do the right thing with great passion and energy. It's work, and it's hard. Some of those days, you get punched in the gut in life and in football. You have to have the mental toughness to get up the next day and do it again and do it again and do it again.

“Integrity is not always getting it right or none of us would have it. It's really when you don't get it right, what do you do? Get up the next day and play the next play. That's the way we will approach our team. The more of those days that we win, the more games we're going to win on Saturday.

“Love is the ability to handle the inconveniences that come with relationships. For us to be able to come together as truly a team, we will have to be tolerant and be great listeners and learn to get to know people and know their heart.

“The last is 'Y,' which is you. We need you. We need the fans. We need the Auburn family. We need the staff. We need the players. We need everyone in this building that is involved in our program to buy in to our core values to drive this train to get it where everyone wants to be. It is all of us that must pull together. The Auburn family.”

Freeze concluded his remarks by explaining why he pursued the opportunity to coach at Auburn.

“It's Pat Dye Field. It's Jordan-Hare Stadium. It’s the Tiger Walk. It's the eagle flight. It's rolling Toomer's Corner. It's the 'Kick Six,’” he said. “It's 'Bo Over the Top.' It's a tremendous sense of community. It's pride and passion that people hold for Auburn. It's the Auburn Creed.

“I believe in work, hard work, which it will take. I believe in the spirit of being unafraid. I don't fear much in life, and I don't think our team will either. I believe in the people. It's the Auburn family. This place is special, and there's no other place that I want to be. I believe in Auburn and love it. War Eagle!”

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