How new helmet communication helps Hugh Freeze 'become Geppetto' of Auburn offense

During the latest episode of Andy Staples On3 on YouTube, Phillip Dukes joined the show to talk a little Auburn Tigers football.

Andy Staples believes that the Tigers could surprise some people in 2024, and the NCAA’s new helmet communication rules will play a huge role in that, with Hugh Freeze being able to talk directly to his quarterback while running the offense.

“Auburn is probably a little more ready to compete than I think people realize,” Staples started. “And my thing is, the fact that Hugh Freeze retook the play calling, and then they change the rules, so that Freeze can talk to the quarterback in his helmet now.

“Like, that is going to change their offense, maybe even more than if they went out and got a transfer portal quarterback.”

Dukes certainly agrees with Staples, believing that Freeze’s offensive prowess, along with some help at wide receiver, will help Auburn make a run in the SEC.

“Yeah, absolutely. I think, with that communication being there, I think you’ll see like, Hugh Freeze literally telling guys where to go. Whether it’s Payton Thorne, who the starter, or it’s one of the backups, he’s going to tell you where to go with the ball,” Dukes responded. “He’s now on the perimeter. They got so much better from last year. When you think about bringing in a guy like Cam Coleman. When you think about a guy like KeAndre Lambert-Smith from Penn State. And then the guy who nobody is really talking about is Robert Lewis, who came from Georgia State, and he’s really a clone of Jamari Thrash, who left Georgia State and went Louisville the previous year, who was going to go to Auburn before he went to Louisville. But I think, that with them being on the perimeter.

“With Hugh Freeze being able to actually just become Geppetto. You know, the puppet master. Not to call the guy a puppet, but we’ll say he’s the guy pulling the strings. I think it’s going to be really explosive.”

Gepetto is the way to describe it, as Staples agreed, remembering what Freeze was able to do for former quarterback Malik Willis while he was with Freeze at Liberty, and how his career took off when Freeze was able to help mold him.

“I think Gepetto is the right way to describe it,” added Staples. “Because like, I remember when Hugh Freeze was at Liberty and he had Malik Willis, like there were moments you could see Hugh Freeze on the sideline getting Malik Willis’s attention, like one of those check with me plays, where the whole offense looks back at the sideline, and Hugh Freeze would just be like pointing at a receiver, like throw to that guy. Like, imagine you can say that, without everybody else in the stadium seeing you.”

Perhaps Auburn will utilize the new rules of helmet communication better than most. We’ll see how the Tigers adjust when the season comes around, but the promise is there.