Auburn Tigers News: Hugh Freeze on Auburn's apparel negotiations and the young DL

In today's edition of Auburn Tigers News, Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze talks about whether or not apparel impacts recruiting and the state of the defensive line group.

Could the era of Auburn Athletics and Under Armour be coming to a close? It's too soon to tell, but it is a fact that the university has been exploring all options ahead of the June 2025 expiration date on the contract with UA. Athletics Director John Cohen provided an update on the negotiations earlier this week, and many have speculated the Tigers could be trying to cook up a deal with Nike.

But does a school's apparel sponsor impact recruiting? According to Hugh Freeze — who has worked at several different programs with different apparel sponsors — the answer is not really.

“Very rare,” Freeze said, per AL.com. “I’ve been at a bunch of different schools and been a part of three different apparel companies and I don’t ever recall feeling like that made a significant difference in the recruitment.”

Hugh Freeze on the state of the defensive line group

Freeze said earlier this spring that the biggest question mark on the roster was the interior of the defensive line. With Marcus Harris and Justin Rogers headed to the NFL, the Tigers lost a lot of production on the DL but have been working to bring in reinforcements.

Two additions came from the transfer portal in Gage Keys and Trill Carter, but the Tigers also brought in a star-studded group of linemen in the 2024 class, including Malik Blocton, Amaris Williams, and TJ Lindsey. The group will have far less experience that last year's group, but Freeze sees a lot of potential in the freshman additions to the defense as a whole, per AL.com.

“Really excited about Amaris and Waller,” Freeze said, referring to 5-star defensive lineman Amaris Williams and 4-star edge rusher Jamonta Waller. “I mean those freshmen are going to be... they’re really talented and probably going to have to play significant snaps in year one. TJ Lindsey’s another one that I think’s got a huge ceiling tinkering with moving him inside.”

The Tigers will finish up spring practice this week and put on the A-Day scrimmage this Saturday.