Auburn University AD John Cohen did some talking about the work Hugh Freeze has done recruiting for his Tigers football team this offseason, but he also recognizes that the program needs to now walk the walk.
And it was exactly what needed to be said as calls for Freeze's job are increasing and intensifying with a tough 2025 schedule on the way.
“Last year’s recruiting class featured 9 of the 12 best players in the state of Alabama. I’m really proud of the efforts our staff made and we’re going to see the fruits of that labor,” Cohen said on "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning." “We brought in some meaningful transfers especially on the offensive line that we are excited about.
“The proof is in the pudding, we got to go out there and compete and win. We got to show people the progress we’ve made and not just talk about it but do it."
Cohen directly addressed what he's judging Freeze on during the 2025 season.
“No.1, the coach no matter what happens has to have the ear to the locker room. No.2, kids have to get better,” Cohen said. “You have to point to are individual kids getting better, because if kids are getting better you are going to have a great football team. And No. 3, you are recruiting at a high level. I think those are all the things that all coaches are judged on.”
Freeze has No. 3 on lock, though the 2026 recruiting class is sitting in the bottom half of all Power 4 programs nationally.
No. 2 doesn't happen if No. 1 isn't sorted.
We'll see if Freeze can start developing players again. If it weren't for transfers like KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Rivaldo Fairweather the past two seasons, and even Payton Thorne towards the end of the 2024 campaign, the Tigers would've somehow been in even worse shape.
Freeze Four? Top-10 recruiting classes?
They mean nothing if those players aren't progressing past their blue-chip high school statuses.