While the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry game’s return to Jordan-Hare Stadium in Week 5 on September 30 didn’t feature the receiving malpractice from Auburn football that their October 9, 2021 loss to Georgia did, there was still a noticeable gap in the talent AU’s receiving corps possesses relative to the Bulldogs’. And that’s something Hugh Freeze is making a point to correct in future seasons according to AL.com’s Ainslie Lee.
“Freeze made a strong effort to improve Auburn’s receiver corps in the offseason,” Lee prefaced before saying, “He brought in guys like Fairweather, who transferred in from Florida International, and Shane Hooks, who made it to The Plains by way of Jackson State. But Saturday’s performance indicates that room still isn’t at the standard it needs to be to help the Tigers compete in the SEC. As such, Freeze is continuing to prioritize adding talented targets to his roster.”
Freeze confirmed as much during an October 2 press conference.
“We’ve gotta get some guys in the receiver room – some depth there that can separate and win some 1-on-1s,” Freeze said.
Hugh Freeze still sticking up for Auburn football transfer quarterback
Freeze is sticking by his QB1, Payton Thorne, telling reporters on October 2 that he believes the first-year Auburn football transfer is having his reputation sullied by the mistakes made by his receivers.
“I thought Payton (Thorne), of his nine incompletions Saturday, I really felt like five of those should have been caught,” Freeze prefaced before saying, “And that makes a difference in those games and it makes a difference in how you perceive the play of a quarterback.”
Freeze had said ahead of the Georgia matchup that his coaching staff needed to be better in support of Thorne.
“I feel like there are things our staff has let him down on,” Freeze said (h/t On3). “Some of it is him and he knows that and owns it. I promised him we would do a better job coaching him this week and preparing him. When you say coaching him, it means also the other positions need to be in the right spot at the right time for him.”