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Auburn football: A sign of possible program alignment on recruiting trail

ByAndrew Hughes
A small but not insignificant sign that Auburn football may have alignment when it comes to the new coaching staff and AU's NIL collective Mandatory Credit: The Montgomery Advertiser
A small but not insignificant sign that Auburn football may have alignment when it comes to the new coaching staff and AU's NIL collective Mandatory Credit: The Montgomery Advertiser

Auburn football could have the much elusive, highly mythicized, often spoken of but rarely attained alignment with their latest head coaching hire, Hugh Freeze. Coming in hot with a troubling past, Freeze has gotten to work on the recruiting trail to keep things centered on the game.

On Friday, December 2, Freeze was pictured with Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, 2023 Auburn football offensive line recruit (via Auburn High School) Bradyn Joiner, and the recruit’s mother sporting an On To Victory button-down shirt.

On To Victory, of course, is Auburn University’s official NIL collective. Freeze representing them on a recruiting visit with a recruit that was vocal in his support of fired head coach Bryan Harsin is an important sign that there is alignment at a fundamental level necessary to be competitive in the NIL era.

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Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze already acclimating to local high schools

Hugh Freeze is aiming to thrive in a role Bryan Harsin seemingly lacked in during his short-lived time on the Plains: establishing relationships with local high school coaches. According to Brian Stultz of Rivals, Freeze has already met with most of the high school coaches in the state on December 1:

If Freeze can continue the work done on flipping Thompson High School DB Tony Mitchell — who looks poised to take his talents to Texas A&M despite their 2022 dysfunction — and, in general, get the ear of local coaches from some of the most talent-rich programs in the state, Freeze could overcome the initial skepticism from much of the fanbase.

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