Reporter reveals another way in which Hugh Freeze clears last Auburn HC

Hugh Freeze recruits better, schemes better, hires better talent, and just overall, works harder than the last Auburn football head coach, Bryan Harsin — and on September 11, Opelika-Auburn News deputy editor Justin Lee revealed another way that the current HC clears the last guy: running media scrums.

“Freeze is wise today to own up to that awful offensive performance and be transparent about what’ll change, who needs more touches and targets,” Lee prefaced before saying, “That’s how you keep supporters engaged, just by being transparent.”

Harsin was famous for his provocative news conferences in which he’d call out the media with reciprocity from the media members in attendance. Between #HatGate, his explosion about Zach Calzada’s health status, and the February 2022 inquiry into the Boise native, Harsin caused fireworks off the field that distracted from the product on it.

Auburn football is more focused on results than storylines under Hugh Freeze

A defining characteristic of the Freeze era on the Plains, thus far at least, has been how quiet things have been all things considered. You rarely hear a peep from the likes of Philip Montgomery or Ron Roberts, and when you do, it’s about football. Ditto for Freeze.

Thus far, college football’s storylines have been dominated by the guys AU didn’t hire for their head coaching position in the offseason. Deion Sanders in Boulder has lived up to the “Prime Time” label, while Lane Kiffin has kept up his social media hijinks amidst a season in which the Ole Miss Rebels look like actual contenders in the SEC West in 2023.

Freeze quietly has Auburn looking like they could make noise. A cupcake matchup with UMass and a drag-it-out battle with Cal in Berkeley don’t have AP poll voters believing in Freeze, but he was always battling uphill considering the narrative surrounding his SEC return and original blackballing.

Luckily, the attention hasn’t been on those negative Freeze narratives. Not in Auburn anyway. Just football. As it should be.