Music City Bowl's breakout Auburn football redshirt freshman opens up about big debut

Auburn football redshirt freshman Hank Brown, the breakout star of a woeful 31-13 Music City Bowl loss to Maryland on December 30 that the Tigers were on the wrong side of, opened up about his debut with Locked On Auburn's Zac Blackerby -- talking about what his 7/9 passing, 132-yard debut means for his future and how the coaching staff responded to the homecoming heroism late in a game that was already decided when Brown took his first snap.

"You know, I heard (Hugh Freeze) specifically say (the QB competition is wide open) in the press conference," Brown said (h/t Auburn Daily). "So that's just super exciting for me and, you know, just more motivating for me to keep grinding and working hard.

"I think just the big picture of what they were telling me is they were just super proud of me. Just for the work that I've put in this year, you know, seeing it pay off at the very end and just excited for the future. They're excited to see what I can do in the future and just encouraging me to keep going and working really hard."

Hugh Freeze has strong belief in Hank Brown's Auburn football future

Brown was the first quarterback Hugh Freeze brought with him to the Plains, and his confidence in the former Liberty commit has not wavered. Freeze broke down all the reasons why he is a fan of the former Lipscomb Academy star.

“Hank has incredible poise,” Freeze said (h/t Auburnundercover). “I saw it every day when he was running the scout team, and he has very little protection and he stands in there and makes throw after throw after throw. I think he has incredible poise for a freshman for sure. He has great humility. Wants to be taught. Wants to learn. Has a good IQ for the game. Understands timing.”

Perhaps underrated as a three-star who held records and won championships in Tennessee's DII-AA division, Brown has the chance to seize AU's QB competition in 2024; especially if there will be no portal additions under center.