AUBURN, AL. (EETV)- Following Saturday’s gut-wrenching loss at home versus Oklahoma, Auburn Head Coach Hugh Freeze took to the stand Monday to address the media.
Freeze opened his comments with the obvious– the team is “gutted” with the terrible turn of events the matchup took in the fourth quarter. “We could easily be 5-0,” Freeze declares. “We didn’t get [our jobs] done… found a way to lose [three games].”
Beyond this, Freeze said very little negatively about his team or their Saturday performance in his conference.
Coach Freeze placed a hefty emphasis on the youth of his roster; of the 49 players that saw the field Saturday, 24 were true freshmen or sophomores. Of these young players, Freeze emphasized two above all others–Malcolm Simmons and Demarcus Riddick.
Freeze highlighted WR Malcolm Simmons’ willingness to be coached, stating “[Simmons] loves to play the game… love coaching him.” Coach allowed himself a chuckle at Simmons adjusting to SEC defenses, stating “[In high school], he was used to just outrunning everybody… it’s a little different here.”
True freshman LB Demarcus Riddick was a hot topic of conversation, mainly due to his incredible effort to “limit running lanes” and contain Oklahoma’s typically high-rushing quarterback to just 69 yards, 48 of which came before Riddick was inserted into the game. Freeze stated that Auburn “needs more recruits like [Riddick],” high praise from a coach famous for high-level recruiting.
The defense as a whole received immense praise from Coach, as the sole defensive factor he emphasized in last week’s conference– third downs– was improved upon immensely, as the Sooners were held to just two of eleven on third down.
Additionally, the Auburn offense dominated the Oklahoma game, achieving almost 500 yards of total offense, a detail Freeze did not miss. He also highlighted the team’s 26 first downs, along with Malcolm Simmons and Cam Coleman combining for almost 150 receiving yards– a massive step for the true freshmen.
Naturally, QB Payton Thorne came up in conversation, and, contrary to the opinion of many Auburn faithful, Freeze seemed incredibly proud of Thorne. “[Thorne] laid it on the line… for the program… gave himself up many times.” Freeze firmly believes that Thorne provides the “best chance to win as long as he keeps taking care of the football.”
Freeze only had two main comments on the pick-six that changed the tide of the game– for Thorne, he simply said “We wish he had that one back… should’ve ran the ball and punted… or thrown it away.” On the other hand, he praised WR Cam Coleman for his “relentless” hustle in chasing down the returner, almost catching him.
Coach Freeze then looked to this coming Saturday’s matchup at Georgia, describing coach Kirby Smart’s team as one with “talent, experience, maturity… great coaching.” Despite the powerful roster Georgia possesses, Freeze views this game as “another opportunity… [with] new life of its’ own.”
Freeze is well-known for his emphasis on building character as well as on-field results, an idea that was heavily reinforced as Freeze expressed, “My job is to build up Auburn men,” which he feels he is doing well.
A concern that surfaced among the media multiple times during this conference was the fear that the team would begin to spiral following such a devastating loss. Freeze scoffed at this, stating “You don’t get to spiral… then success. There’s not another option… That’s life.”
“Whenever they try to tear you down… or praise you, just go to work… [with the] same passion,” Freeze said, “Because you love what you do, you love who you do it with, and most importantly, you love who you do it for.”
Coach Freeze’s squad looks to “return the glory to Auburn football,” and shock the world in this Saturday’s 2:30 P.M. CT matchup at Georgia.
