[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] has worked hard to prove that he is moving Auburn in the right direction, but how close is he to putting the program back on the map?
Freeze has reeled in talented, useful additions from the transfer portal, and has gotten off to a great start in high school recruiting. In his short time at Auburn, does Freeze feel that his roster is comparable to the conference’s elite such as Alabama, Georgia, and LSU? He shared his thoughts earlier this week at SEC Media Days.
He says that time will tell if Auburn is there or not.
“Do I think we’ve improved Auburn with the additions that we’ve had since I’ve been there? Yes,” Freeze said Tuesday. “Does that mean we close the gap at all? I have no clue.”
While he is not ready to say if his team can truly compete for a College Football Playoff bid or even an SEC Championship, but he is willing to say that Auburn could surprise people in year one.
“I do know we improved Auburn, and I hope that means that we somehow close the gap enough to — if we have a good game plan, to be in some of those games in the fourth quarter and have maybe a shot to pull an upset,” Freeze said. “It’s too early for me to really say, but I do know we improved our roster. But at the same time, they’re constantly improving theirs it seems like.”
If the gap has not been closed yet, when can Auburn fans expect to see the Tigers knock on the door of an SEC West title? Freeze also shared a timeline.
“I do think that the ’24 and ’25 recruiting cycle will tell a large portion of my story there,” Freeze said. “I believe that. Maybe ’26. We might get three cycles, but we’ve got to start closing the gap on the elite program in the conference, and when you add Texas and Oklahoma, that only increases the competition also. But, there is a lot of good players. They all can’t go to the same school.”
At the time of this post, Auburn is currently No. 38 in 247Sports 2024 recruiting rankings. Early signing day is set for Wednesday, Dec. 20.
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