Hugh Freeze was one of the greatest disasters that ever hit the Auburn Tigers football program over the past three years. No coach has squandered a greater assembly of talent on the Plains in a more profound way.
Cam Coleman, Eric Singleton Jr., Perry Thompson, and Horatio Fields all came to Auburn with hopes of giving the program elite receiving threats for multi-million dollar quarterback Jackson Arnold last season, and they all quickly realized they made a mistake. All of them are now gone, to the Texas Longhorns, Florida Gators, Minnesota Golden Gophers (!!!), and Ole Miss Rebels, respectively, believing they had a better chance of maximizing their potential elsewhere. Deuce Knight, who came to East Central Alabama as a 5-star, who many thought had the talent to start right away, didn't get a real chance until Week 13 against the Mercer Bears, with Derrick Nix as the interim play-caller.
To say AU was mismanaged by Freeze is an understatement. Especially when AL.com's Peter Rauterkus described running Jeremiah Cobb, one of the only effective Freeze-recruited skill position threats who decided to remain with the team after Alex Golesh took over, as "the only source of positivity coming from Auburn’s offense for much of last season."
Auburn spent over $20 million to be a dumpster fire in 2025
The Tigers had great players last year. That's not up for debate. If they didn't, Auburn's transfers wouldn't have gotten paid so handsomely during the January transfer window.
With that said, collectively, the 2025 Tigers were an unmitigated dumpster fire.
Three points scored against the Kentucky Wildcats? 37 points combined against the Oklahoma Sooners, Texas A&M Aggies, and Georgia Bulldogs during the most pivotal stretch of the season? One SEC win?
For over $20 million, that's a terrible investment. When you factor in another $19 million on the coaching and support staffs, it's an incredible burden on the Yellowhammer State's taxpayers, since there's an exemption for NIL/rev-share earnings in Alabama.
All just for Freeze to tell us his team was "close" time and again.
There will never be a greater gas-lighter to ever run the Auburn football program.