Auburn football: Hugh Freeze’s OC at Liberty takes same position at Jackson State
Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze’s offensive coordinator all four years at Liberty, Maurice Harris, quietly announced on his personal Twitter account that he’d be taking the same position at Jackson State — with his bio simply reading “Offensive Coordinator at Jackson State University” and his location changed to Jackson.
Harris was a target for Freeze’s first Auburn football coaching staff but he ultimately settled on former Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery to take on play-calling as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.
The Clarion Ledger’s J.T. Keith believes that Jackson State’s offense could look a good bit like Liberty’s did the past several seasons:
"“Don’t be surprised to see JSU play a Freeze-like up-tempo offense with the tight ends being a big part of the passing game.”"
Auburn football set to continue to feature the tight end in 2023 and beyond
One positive thing about Bryan Harsin’s tenure as Auburn football head coach was the return to prominence of the tight end position. Not just relegated to blocking duties, tight ends — most notably John Samuel Shenker — broke out under the offensive schemes of Mike Bobo and in year two, Eric Kiesau.
That should continue to be the case in 2023 with Hugh Freeze now in charge. Freeze brought in Florida International transfer Rivaldo Fairweather to replace Shenker as the top tight end in the Tigers’ room. Fairweather had eight more catches and over double the yardage Shenker had in 2022. While offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery’s offenses at Tulsa didn’t feature the tight end the past few years, there will likely be a course-correction on the Plains with Freeze as his superior and Fairweather leading a veteran group.
High-octane, up-tempo offense is coming to AU after sluggish performances in 2022 pre-Harsin firing. And while Carnell “Cadillac” Williams tried to rally the troops in the final four games, he didn’t have the talent in the trenches Freeze now does.