By Mark Pszonak
I think Hugh Freeze is a good college football coach. I thought that he was the right hire for Auburn. But he was completely wrong for throwing his quarterbacks under the bus after the Tigers 24-14 loss to Arkansas on Saturday, especially since all of these struggles are his fault.
Only a couple of weeks ago I wrote how excitement was returning to Auburn (read here). But I also said that for it to continue, quarterback Payton Thorne would have to improve his level of play. He didn’t, and he was benched. Yesterday, Hank Brown showed that he also wasn’t the answer with three interceptions and only 72 yards passing in the first half. Thorne returned as the starter in the second half and showed some life, completing 13 of 22 passes for 213 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, but that was far from enough for Coach Freeze, who blamed his quarterbacks and running backs for the loss:
"I know that there's people open and I know that we're running the football. We've got to find a guy that won't throw it to the other team and we've got to find running backs that hold on to it." – Hugh Freeze after Auburn's turnover-filled loss to Arkansas pic.twitter.com/7CQ4ii7ij9
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) September 21, 2024
First, no matter how true it might be, this is something a head coach can’t do. Unless you want to lose the locker room, you don’t make statements like this to the media. And you especially don’t make a statement like this when you’re the reason that the offense is in this position.
Coach Freeze knew what his quarterback situation was during the off-season and decided not to use the transfer portal to improve it. Instead, he double-down and added more wide receiver talent, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Robert Lewis, to fill out an already impressive group. How does this make sense?
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With this decision, the Tigers are 2-2 with Oklahoma, Georgia and Missouri coming the next three games. The season is on the brink of implosion and when the season ends the bad news will likely continue.
With the four talented true freshman wide receivers – Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson, Malcolm Simmons, Bryce Cain – what are the chances all four return next season with the huge hole at quarterback? The answer is none. Yes, the Tigers will likely, or hopefully, add a quarterback during the next window but at that point it will be too late for the four receivers.
This season will be painful for Auburn fans and will continue to be painful in December as they watch their freshman wide receiver group enter the transfer portal. And no matter who Hugh Freeze decides to blame at that point, it is all his fault.
