Hugh Freeze may have just changed the course of his Auburn football career
Hugh Freeze is listening to Auburn football fans. Instead of continuing to start Payton Thorne under center and upsetting a fanbase that is dying for change, Freeze gave Tiger fans what they wanted by starting Hank Brown in Week 3 against New Mexico.
Per On3's Justin Hokanson, Freeze is starting Brown "for now"; likely looking for the redshirt freshman out of Lipscomb Academy to solidify the change by showing out against the Lobos in a game AU is favored in by four touchdowns.
"Redshirt freshman Hank Brown is slated to start at QB for Auburn against New Mexico on Saturday," Hokanson prefaced before saying, "For now, Brown replaces starter and team captain Payton Thorne in the starting lineup."
It cannot be stressed enough how important pulling the trigger on this QB switch is to Freeze's career on the Plains.
Hugh Freeze answers doubters who claim he doesn't care about being Auburn football's head coach
Freeze continuing to rely on Thorne led to a malaise on offense that made it impossible to win games that the team should have considering its talent level. Maryland in a bowl game in Nashville this past December, which may as well have been an unofficial home game, Cal this past Saturday, and New Mexico State in Week 12 last year at home come to mind.
Luckily, Auburn's head coach realized that on-field results mean more than ever now with NIL making the transfer portal a popular place and high school recruits not being required to stay committed to a school even if said school paid them. In particular, the Freeze Four needs a proof of concept if the in-state quartet is to all stick around, and they weren't getting it with Throne.
Brown is the shot in the arm the team needed. And while we don't know if all the team's problems are now fixed, we have at least seen Freeze try to fix them.
Paul Finebaum accused Freeze of not even looking like he cares that he's Auburn's head coach anymore.
"I've been around Hugh Freeze once or twice down there in interviews, he doesn't really look like he wants to be there," Finebaum told Greg McElroy on the September 11 edition of "Always College Football." "I know that sounds like a bold statement, but I mean, there's something going on with him. I mean, at least act like you want the job. I mean, show some emotion. Brian Kelly, for all the theatrics of punching the table, at least it looked like he cared. I mean, there are times when I don't really know what Hugh Freeze is up to.
Good on Freeze to respond to that accusation and prove he does care about his fanbase and those who pay his salary. His recruiting success was there, but now he's making the personnel moves to match it week-to-week during the season.