The Auburn football team is officially going bowling! Though first-year head coach Hugh Freeze isn’t big on setting goals, he decided that bowl eligibility in his first season on the Plains was a non-negotiable, and the players achieved that goal with their win over Arkansas back in October.
There have been many predictions about which bowl the Tigers will end up in, but the destination will not be revealed until this weekend. And until bowl preparation begins, the coaching staff will be focusing hard on recruiting both their own roster and players from high school and the transfer portal.
In recent years, it has become a trend for players to opt-out of playing the bowl game. Some players may skip the game to avoid potential injury ahead of the NFL Draft, and others may opt out by entering the transfer portal before the game. There are a variety of reasons players may opt out, but Hugh Freeze has strong feelings about participation in the post-season, per AL.com:
"“This is new to me,” Freeze said when asked about the trend of players opting out. “That is a difficult deal for me. I’ve always believed you finish. You finish with your team. We signed up for this.”"
Despite his beliefs, Freeze also recognizes that there may be good reason to enter the transfer portal, and went on to say that he plans to handle those conversations with honesty and transparency, and will tell his players if he believes they have a better opportunity elsewhere or if they should be patient and wait it out on the Plains.
It’s also important to note that players who enter the transfer portal prior to the bowl game are eligible to participate, but that decision is up to the coaching staff. It will take thinking and tough conversations, but the final decisions will have to be ones that are for the greater good and success of the Auburn football team.