Hugh Freeze on needing to solidify team atmosphere: 'We've got to face it head on'

Hugh Freeze spoke to the importance of solidifying a team atmosphere for Auburn following their loss in the Music City Bowl against the Maryland Terrapins.

A tighter-knit team might not have won the Tigers their bowl game, as the Terrapins soared to a win over the SEC program, but it’s something Freeze wants to focus on moving forward, as he sees other top teams deal with it at the moment.

“I don’t know that this is just a case for Auburn, but it’s certainly something that we are battling some. It’s just the disease of me. I think that’s in a lot of areas of life now, and we’re not exempt to it in our locker room. I think we’ve got to face it head on,” Freeze said. “It’s not everybody for sure, but there’s just a lot of things that I’m hopeful that can be a part of the Auburn football program that, man, we really do care, love, trust one another to put the team first. I think those are the ones who are going to excel in building sustainable programs that compete at a high level.

“We’re not the only ones to have to battle that, and you see some that are battling it pretty effectively. We’ve got to — particularly when you’re disappointed and you’re not in the playoffs or you’re not in — what do you do then? I think it’s those challenges that make football the best training ground there is for life, and there’s a lot of lessons that we need to learn for sure.”

That’s good news for Auburn fans that Freeze is battling the potential issue head on. He’s not going to let any team-wide issues fester and derail what he’s trying to build at Auburn.

Regardless, the disappointment from Freeze was real after losing the Music City Bowl. He wasn’t happy with anyone’s performance on Auburn’s side. Afterwards, he apologized to the program’s fanbase, letting them know it starts with him, and they’re going to get it fixed.

“I don’t need anyone to tell me when we don’t measure up. That starts with me,” Freeze started. “I feel so awful for our incredible fans. It was incredible to see them, their support for us, and to not perform any better in games this year like this. I promise you that — I don’t need someone to tell me I didn’t get it done.

“I think our staff and our young men, starting with our staff, starting with me, have got to create a standard of the way we consistently work, consistently compete, and figure out how to be a true team. That is my goal in 2024, and I’ll need these two to help me and the staff to help me, but it’s disappointing today for our incredible fans and our support from our administration that we didn’t perform any better. Congrats to Coach Locksley. They came prepared and certainly outplayed us.”

Alas, Hugh Freeze is looking to build a winner at Auburn, but the Music City Bowl is a chapter they’ll be looking to toss by the wayside in the book of his tenure.