Paul Finebaum voiced concerns about how Hugh Freeze is going to handle Oklahoms Sooners transfer Jackson Arnold this season. Finebaum noted Freeze's penchant for calling out players when things aren't going well, evoking memories of call-outs to Payton Thorne and Jarquez Hunter last year during the Auburn Tigers' Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide matchups, in particular.
Finebaum also seemingly manifested a mutiny from the fanbase at quarterback, putting the energy in the universe about the fanbase wanting Deuce Knight to overtake Arnold at some point this fall.
“I’ll tell you something about Hugh Freeze, for all of the praise he gets, he can be hard on his players,” Finebaum said on his show. “When things don’t go well, he tends to overdo it. He tends to throw them under the bus. That’s what they don’t need. You’ve got a quarterback who’s fractured. He had a rough year last year. Jackson Arnold needs confidence; he needs good things to happen, or fans are going to be calling for Deuce Knight.”
Fans will have patience with Arnold, just as there was with Freeze as a coach. With the potential for multiple QBs potentially playing against the Baylor Bears in Week 1, there's a chance any preseason calls for anyone to play will look foolish.
Finebaum has clearly just lost patience with Freeze throughout the summer as bad headline after bad headline about his golfing habit and recruiting temporarily tailing off, but he's always maintained what the rest of the world has about the Tigers' roster:
It's good enough to have irrational hope. And not just the typical irrational hope that sprouts on the Plains every August before football season.
“I think Auburn is capable of doing a lot of good things this year,” Finebaum said. “But for the final time, they need to get off to a fast start.”
The 2024 season, mainly losses to the Cal Golden Bears and Arkansas Razorbacks in Week 2 and Week 4 at home, put Freeze on probation.
Only a little bit of early-season winning against Power 4 opponents will inspire fans to be content with the product he put on the field, though.