The success and development of a former Ole Miss tight end who is now in the NFL, Evan Engram, is being touted by the Auburn football coaching staff on the recruiting trail to attract talent to the Plains.
Engram was taken in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft by the New York Giants, where he was featured as fellow Ole Miss alum Eli Manning’s star tight end until his retirement. He signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars last season for $9 million and went for a career-high 766 yards on 73 receptions in 2022.
On3’s Keith Niebuhr revealed the recruiting pitch of first-year head coach Hugh Freeze and tight ends coach Ben Aigamaua on Twitter on January 23:
A big selling point on the trail for @CoachHughFreeze & @B_Aigamaua is the development at Ole Miss of tight end Evan Engram - a member of Freeze's 2nd recruiting class in Oxford. Went from 3* to 1st-round pick & now has 335 career receptions. Many recruits have mentioned him. pic.twitter.com/gR38U0cvy2
— Keith Niebuhr (@On3Keith) January 24, 2023
Auburn football has more results to show on the recruiting trail under Hugh Freeze
While former Auburn football head coach Bryan Harsin brought plenty of Mountain West success to the southeast, he didn’t relate to many of the recruits in this region who grew up watching Nick Saban dominate the game and the likes of Kirby Smart, Ed Orgeron and even Gus Malzahn challenging Alabama’s stranglehold.
Personality-wise, Harsin didn’t hit it off with most of the talent already on the Tigers and even the recruits he brought in himself. But he didn’t have the resume to impress talent enough to overcome it either.
Hugh Freeze brings baggage, but he also has years of SEC success (and beating Saban) to show as well. Add in the exalting of Liberty’s program at the FBS level, and Freeze and co. have plenty to sell recruits with.