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The Auburn Tigers are hoping to rebound from back-to-back losing seasons under head coach Hugh Freeze. The man that was brought in to turn the program around has largely been stuck in the mud.
The odds of a 2025 resurgence don’t look promising based on offseason observations from college football media members. The Hugh Freeze experiment on The Plains is failing.
Freeze came in to replace Bryan Harsin, who went 9-12 across 21 games. Past success at SEC rival Ole Miss was a big reason why.
The coach led the Rebels to 27 wins between 2013 and 2015. His recruiting prowess was evident as he reeled in big fish on the trail. Unfortunately, recruiting was also the reason for his exit.
Violations were unveiled leading to Ole Miss probation. Freeze was forced to resign amid scandal.
Auburn took a risk by hiring Hugh Freeze.
Despite the controversy at his previous SEC stop, the Tigers gave Freeze a second chance in the league. He was successful in his turnaround at Ole Miss. The same can’t be said thus far at Auburn.
Freeze is 11-14 across his first two seasons. The future doesn’t look much brighter given his recent work on the recruiting trail, which may be taking a backseat to his affinity for golf.
While 2026 recruiting is taking a hit, his ’25 class was more than respectable. The Tigers landed a Top 10 group nationally. It was headlined by five-star transfer Jackson Arnold.
The quarterback previously suited up for Oklahoma. After two seasons, he bolted for a conference rival.
Jackson Arnold lost his confidence.
Arnold arrived at OU with much fanfare. He was unable to live up to the hype in his two years on campus.
Through 17 games, the passer threw for 1,984 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. Four weeks into his sophomore campaign, he was benched for true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr.
Arnold struggled for much of his time in Norman. His confidence suffered as a result. He wasn’t ready for the SEC!
While the Sooners reinserted him into the lineup, burning his redshirt in the process, transfer rumors circulated throughout the season. Those whispers were confirmed at year’s end.
Now, Auburn is working to rebuild his confidence ahead of his first year with the program. Hugh Freeze believes making practice easier will help.
Hugh Freeze is babying his new signal caller.
@joshpatecfb SEC Media Day: Should we be worried about Jackson Arnold?? @Cole Cubelic #cfb #collegefootball #joshpate #podcast #podcastclips #auburn #sec #hughfreeze #jacksonarnold
Former Auburn offensive lineman Cole Cubelic is concerned about the strategy. He thinks it could do more harm than good before gearing up to face a grueling SEC slate.
“I’m a little bit down on Auburn after yesterday,” he said while speaking with college football personality Josh Pate. “Hearing Hugh Freeze talk about instructing his defensive staff to essentially make life easy on Jackson Arnold in practice to boost his confidence.
“Is this the end all, be all? No. Does this mean Auburn’s going to go 6-6? No. I just don’t like that when I know that confidence is the one thing that needs to be rebuilt in him… It’s got to be rewired.”
Auburn will face a gauntlet of opposing defenses in 2025. On the schedule are an opener at Baylor followed by games at Oklahoma, at Texas A&M, vs. Georgia, and vs. Alabama.
Those teams will not go as easy on Arnold as his Auburn teammates. Hopefully, he will be prepared. Another losing season could signal the end for Hugh Freeze.