Auburn head football coach Hugh Freeze doesn't like what he sees out of Knoxville, Tennessee. Commenting on former Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava's NIL contract holdout that resulted in his Rocky Top departure, Freeze claimed the game needs changes.
He later labeled the state of NIL as "not healthy for our sport."
“Our game needs some change for sure,” Freeze said on Monday's edition of the Paul Finebaum Show, per AL.com. “Until we get some structure around us where there is some accountability to the contracts that are signed with collectives and schools, I think we’re going to be up for some of this that’s not healthy for our sport, truthfully.”
Freeze didn't sound confident on a solution when asked by Paul Finebaum what this moment means for coaches.
“I don’t know that I would describe it as pressure. It’s just, it’s very unsettling,” Freeze said. “You build these relationships that you think you have that are on solid footing and sure, now this week, I’m quite certain I’ll get smacked in the face that that relationship may not be as tight as I thought it was.
“It’s not so much pressure as it is just frustrating... I was in with our personnel right before this. You think you know who your squad is, and you keep hearing, but we really don’t know.”
Freeze has had his own issues in the transfer portal throughout the years. His initial QB investment via the portal, Payton Thorne, ended up blooming far too late on the Plains. In 2024, when given the chance to rectify the mistake, Freeze stood against spending on a signal-caller.
While Freeze hopes Jackson Arnold is AU's long-awaited answer under center, his problems still pale in comparison to what Josh Heupel and Co. just went through at UT.