Hugh Freeze arrived at the Auburn football program with the aim of overhauling a number of aspects of the existing infrastructure; one structurally damaged by the tenure of disgraced fired head coach Bryan Harsin. Few were as critical as the in-state relationships between AU and local high schools that Harsin never visited.
To paraphrase Rush’s Geddy Lee: they call him the working man. Freeze was spotted at the Central-Opelika game on September 15 — doing so in the hopes that he can build a meaningful relationship between Phenix City and AU. With Patrick Nix coaching the Red Devils, and the circumstances of Bo Nix’s exit from the Plains, there is plenty of work to do there.
Hugh Freeze spotted at Central-Phenix City pic.twitter.com/lczQSsuwnC
— Sidelines - Auburn (@SSN_Auburn) September 15, 2023
Freeze was in attendance likely to work on a flip for Texas A&M commit Cam Coleman. Undoubtedly, after the Aggies’ blowout loss to Miami on September 9, Freeze has plenty of anti-recruitment ammunition on Jimbo Fisher and Co. For now on the Fisher front, at least.
Auburn football Central target Cam Coleman has ‘some of the most unique wide receiver traits in the nation’
There’s a good reason Freeze was in Phenix City: Coleman, a receiver with “some of the most unique wide receiver traits in the nation” according to Rivals’ national recruiting analyst, John Garcia Jr.
“Coleman has some of the most unique wide receiver traits in the nation, sporting true length with the ball skills and overall athleticism to make plays at the catch point and certainly after the catch,” said Garcia (h/t AL.com). “The catch radius, true lower-body explosiveness and body control Coleman illustrated makes him a threat for a big play even against good coverage. He has the type of frame and game that widens the margin for error for the quarterback.”
A Coleman flip would truly indicate that Auburn is back as a player in the SEC considering the reason the wideout chose TAMU was a feeling of family with the coaching staff. If Freeze can convince a star from a school that hasn’t had any semblance of a pipeline to the Plains despite the close proximity, it’d be undeniable.