Auburn football: This is Hugh Freeze’s No. 1 goal in spring practice

Earlier this week the Auburn football team kicked off one of the most anticipated spring practices in several years. The lack of identity and direction that marred the tenure of Bryan Harsin is gone, and new head coach Hugh Freeze has stepped up to take on task of returning the Tigers to the standard at which they belong.

Due to the timing of his hiring, Hugh Freeze had to immediately jump into the world of recruiting, securing a respectable 2023 class and foundations for the classes of the next few years. What he has not had time to do is get to know his own team and begin to set the standards for what it means to be an Auburn football player in this new era on the Plains.

Following National Signing Day on February 2, Freeze told the media that discipline was an area that needs to be improved upon and that showing up on lists was not a good thing and a major distraction from football. This point was hammered home in his explanation of what he hopes to get out of his first spring practice in orange and blue, via The Montgomery Advertiser:

"“It’s a mental grind,” Freeze said. “It takes mental toughness. That doesn’t come natural to a lot of people. Not just football players, but to a lot of people. I think that is the No. 1 thing that I want to get out of spring ball would be that we understand that the little things truly are the main thing.“… I get reports every day from our strength staff and academic staff and training staff, and we’ve still got a ways to go, truthfully, in the standard to which we want to operate.”"

Though Harsin harped on the fact that he was trying to “build a culture” on the Plains, there were never results. Hugh Freeze is starting from the ground and building up, emphasizing everything from following parking rules to showing up to class to every aspect of being a football player. Once the little things, the attention to detail, begin to translate to the field, it will surely pay off for the Auburn football team.