USA Today's Matt Hayes has no faith in any aspect of Auburn Tigers football coach Hugh Freeze's offseason approach to reloading his roster and preparing his players to go to war with him on Saturdays this fall.
Certainly not in Freeze's decision to bring Jackson Arnold over from the Oklahoma Sooners and how the head coach has helped the transfer quarterback acclimate to the Plains.
Hayes ripped Freeze's decision to have the defense back off Arnold during practice with the John H. Guyer High School (TX) product.
"Because this can’t be said enough: Freeze has failed spectacularly with the very thing that got him the job in the first place," Hayes wrote.
"In two seasons, Freeze’s offenses have been 12th and 11th in the SEC in points per game, and his quarterbacks have combined to throw 26 interceptions.
"Knowing all of this heading into a crossroads third season, and knowing he needed a tough and talented quarterback who could protect the ball, Freeze signed benched Oklahoma starter Jackson Arnold from the transfer portal.
"Then told his defense – the one good thing in Freeze’s two seasons on The Plains – to ease up on his new quarterback so he leaves practice feeling confident.
"Just to recap this bumbling, fumbling philosophical train wreck of an offseason: Freeze badly needed an efficient and proficient quarterback, and took a flier on a former five-star recruit. Then told his defense hands off.
"This thing is going to fail on multiple levels."
Now, there are two main points to glean from this.
One is that this thing could fail if Arnold isn't the right choice under center. While Freeze and Marcus Davis have built a spectacular receiving corps that's nearly unrivaled across the SEC, they brought in a quarterback who relied on his feet to win key games during the 2024 season; mainly against the Alabama Crimson Tide in OU's best win of the campaign.
As for the other point...
If Arnold fails, it won't be because he didn't get earnest practice time. Even if Auburn's defense was going hard on him, they still wouldn't be able to simulate live-game action in practice. No player wants to be known as the defender who injured the team's hopes and dreams under center.
That point has been overblown this offseason. No fall camp around the country is seeing the star EDGE rusher blindside the QB with a highlight-reel hit.
If you want to know the true culprit for why Arnold might be unprepared this season? Look no further than the too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen three-man play-calling hydra Freeze set up of himself, Derrick Nix, and Kent Austin. That is a systemic problem that has reared its ugly head the past few seasons, with Freeze even sabotaging Philip Montgomery's play-calling in 2023.