Roster thoughts, QB race and more: Everything Hugh Freeze said following Auburn's A-Day

AUBURN — Hugh Freeze met the media on Saturday afternoon following the completion of Auburn’s spring camp. The Tigers took part in “A-Day” inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, which was just a one-hour-ish practice with different situations built in. Here’s everything Freeze said, including spring transfer portal plans and more.

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“I thought we had a great spring. Truthfully. I love the chemistry in our building right now and the energy, you know. We gave to get some guys healthy that weren’t able to get through spring that we’re depending upon. But man, what a beautiful day in Jordan-Hare. And our fans showed up… I mean, it just tells you about the Auburn people and how great they are and the support they have for us. So, I thought it was one of the better springs I’ve been a part of. And a lot of credit goes to our staff and our leadership team for demanding the accountability to the standards.”

Freeze talked about Year Three and spring roster construction.

“Yeah, it’s quite different and in a good way. Obviously, you know, anytime you take over a program of this magnitude that has the expectations Auburn does, there’s a reason you got it. And that’s certainly not casting a judgment on anyone else because you never know really what happens until you walk into someone else’s shoes. But you have to have Top 10 recruiting classes in this league to form an elite roster. And I felt like we could do that at Auburn.

“We have the two recruiting classes we’ve had and the roster therefore looks different. And I thought it would take three to really have the roster to where it rivals those of the elite in this conference. And that’s probably still accurate. But, I do feel optimistic that with the two we’ve had, we can compete, should compete this year. And so it does look different. So let’s go line up and see what we got.”

What positions will Auburn be after in the spring portal?

“We have been discussing that every personnel meeting because I think the game is changing. You know, I haven’t heard the latest on the settlement, but, it’s going to be difficult, you’re going to have to model it after an NFL roster, I think, eventually. We haven’t made that final determination yet and you know, some of it will probably depend on what’s available. I think it’s probably going to be a pretty hard sell maybe, you know, so that’s something we’re still determining.

“But the positions you never will turn down interior D-lines or pass rusher, or some guys with experience. I really like our young linebackers. Could we use one that has some experience if one’s available? Probably so. And we’ll never turn down a great cover guy either. I think offensively we’re pretty, pretty set provided, you know, obviously we’ve got to retain our roster too with another portal coming.”

What’s it been like for Freeze to focus on mainly only Jackson Arnold and Deuce Knight this spring?

“I think that’s been a blessing. I really working with just two with Kent (Austin), Jesse (Stone) and myself, I thought was really nice. Their arms are probably a little tired because they got most of the throws for sure. But, I think it was needed for both of them. I feel like we’re way ahead of the game, them understanding our system and what we want to do. Both have high football IQs, both are hungry to come in and study and so them getting the majority of the reps. We have a lot of things we can teach from and they got to see it firsthand because again, you weren’t splitting a number of reps. I thought it was very beneficial to us.”

With Arnold not practicing on Saturday, how did Knight perform?

“He did OK. He threw a couple of late picks that he hasn’t done all spring. He has real good instincts when the pocket is collapsing to keep his eyes downfield and extend plays, either throwing it away or run. He’s done well all spring. That was a little out of character for him, with the 15 days we’ve had in spring. I hadn’t seen that.

“That’s the great thing about him. After every play, man, he’s giving you feedback. I thought he made some really nice throws… We talk about all the time, trust our receivers and put the ball in the position for them to make a play. There was some three or four in that skeleton period that were just really, really nice throws that gave our guys a chance to make plays in the 50-50 contested catches.

“And then in the team stuff, I thought he thought he managed it pretty well. He was making some of the calls that we need down in the red zone, getting himself protected if he knows he’s going to throw it. And that’s good to see him picking that up. I thought it was a solid day for him. He’ll look at the film and there’ll be things that he wish he would have done differently, but it’s nothing like that experience for him to help prepare him for the fall.”

How would Freeze assess Arnold’s spring?

“I thought he had a really solid spring and he’s feeling fine. He just didn’t need to run today and risk. There’s no defect in the hamstring. You certainly don’t want to create one with one day left going into an offseason that he needs to be ready to go. No need in risking that. Same thing with Eric Singleton Jr. So, I thought he had a solid spring. I love the way he is poised in the pocket. His eyes are downfield. He uses his legs when he needs to. He’s got a strong enough arm to make every throw. I’m excited about and optimistic about both he and Deuce’s springs.”

Perry Thompson seemed to have a good day. Thoughts?

“Perry’s a hard one to read and you know, we’ve had several talks, you know, and I’ve talked to him about, like, hey, Van Jefferson redshirted, DK Metcalf redshirted, and you didn’t. Now part of his was due to an injury… There’s a process to this for most people in this and man, just be patient with the process. And I think he’s starting to see the success that comes with that. And as long as he continues to be consistent in his efforts, he’s talented enough to be a real good weapon for us. And I think you saw that today in some of the contested catches he made…”