Auburn head football coach Hugh Freeze's prostate cancer is not expected to keep the 55-year-old Oxford, Mississippi native down. ESPN's Chris Low provided an update on Freeze's condition during an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show that can't be seen as anything but astounding.
“He’s talked to his doctors at UAB, and he said, ‘Listen, I couldn’t be more pleased with the care and advice I’ve gotten,'” Low said, per On3. “They had consulted with the Mayo Clinic about his cancer. He is 55 years old. It’s prostate cancer. He just feels like with the most recent tests that have come back, that it was a slow-aggressive form, that he’s willing to wait instead of having the surgery, because really, the only two times he could have the surgery would be January or June.
“He’s a man of faith, his family, he and his wife, Jill, have talked a ton about it, and he’s gonna wait. He’s gonna wait until the review and have it monitored, see where he is come January. And that’s sort of the plan right now. He said, ‘I’m at a peace with it. I feel great.’ I asked him, I said, ‘Are you having issues?’ He said, ‘No, I’m really not.’ And I just don’t think he’s ready to go under the knife right now.”
Auburn's modified A-Day festivities -- which won't include the traditional spring game intrasquad scrimmage but will instead be an open practice -- will be a major public appearance for Freeze on Saturday. It wouldn't be surprising to see him address fans about his health concerns at the event.
Freeze is 11-14 in two years on the Plains. AD John Cohen has confirmed Freeze's job security hasn't been discussed yet.
If things go sour in 2025, the combination of Freeze's long-term health, since he famously had medical issues while at Liberty, too, perhaps a conversation about a mutual parting of ways is possible.