Auburn Tigers football coach Hugh Freeze may be in the midst of one of the most JABA summers anyone has ever had.
As Freeze is losing blue-chips on the recruiting trail, he's also being called out on social media for a potential reason why the sky is falling: his excessive golf hobby.
"While Hugh Freeze is allowed to do whatever he wants in his free time, playing golf (10 out of the first 20 days of June) is a bad look with the way things are currently playing out. In the last 11 days, Auburn has lost 4-star linebacker JaMichael Garrett, 4-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle, and 4-star wide receiver Devin Carter while several other recruits have picked other schools," Saturday Blitz's Nicholas Rome wrote.
"Given that Hugh Freeze is currently on the hot seat after a terrible season, the thought was that he'd be all in on building an elite recruiting class. Hugh Freeze will now need to either rally on the recruiting trail or have a great season this year otherwise, his tenure in Auburn could end much sooner than expected. Freeze golfing isn't a problem but, the optics of playing golf this often right before a recruiting dead period is not a great look."
Freeze's hard work on the recruiting trail was the only reason he was being defended by Tiger fans who were assured Bryan Harsin was always the problem. 11-14 is brutal, but not so much so with a top-10 recruiting class.
Remove the recruiting success, which the universe is doing this summer, and there's little reason to believe something sustainable is being built on the Plains.
Good thing DJ Durkin runs a Tigers defense that should keep the team in games. If Freeze and the offensive staff can't match it with a competent attack, there's at least a qualified interim coaching option right there.