Head coach Hugh Freeze is heading into his third season with Auburn football, but his first two seasons have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride.
On the recruiting side, Freeze inherited a team that had plenty of work to do. Recruitment of certain positions had stalled late into Guz Malzahn's tenure, and then the Tigers saw very little recruiting success under Bryan Harsin. Freeze quickly addressed the issues and has dominated the recruiting trail since arriving on the Plains, bringing in two back-to-back top-10 recruiting classes and getting more talent on the roster.
Despite the success, it has not translated into wins on the field. The Tigers went 6-6 in Freeze's first season, which was somewhat expected, but then in his second season the team only won five games.
With two losing seasons in a row under his belt, the pressure on Freeze has certainly been ramped up ahead of the 2025 season. The Tigers will be working with a completely new quarterback room and a wide receiver group that Freeze claimed to be one of the best he has ever worked with during spring training.
Heading into the 2025 season, opinions on Freeze are pretty split. Some believe that this is the year for the Auburn football team and that Freeze just needed time, but others can't look past the rough start.
USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams ranked all 16 SEC coaches from best to worst, and were split on where to rank Freeze. On Toppmeyer's list, he was ranked No. 12, but Adams ranked him No. 7 and had an encouraging message for Tiger fans.
"Your ranking of Freeze reflects his rocky start on the Plains, but it ignores that Freeze remains a smooth recruiter, and that will show this season, when Auburn becomes one of the SEC's most improved teams. I expect Freeze will be several rungs higher on your list next year."
The Tigers return to action on August 29 in their season opener against Baylor.