Coach Speak: Auburn's Hugh Freeze on Georgia

Kirby Smart and Hugh Freeze square off as head coaches for the second time in their careers on Saturday, this time with Freeze at Auburn instead of Ole Miss. After making his return to the SEC following his firing in 2016, Freeze gets his first taste of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry this week.

Smart has coached in this game eight times in seven seasons. He holds a 7-1 record and will look to move to 1-1 against his counterpart – dropping the first contest to Freeze at Ole Miss back in 2016. With a much more talented team and a proven track record now, odds are in Smart and Georgia’s favor. The Bulldogs are 14.5-point favorites for the 128th meeting between UGA and Auburn.

Enough about Freeze and Smart. Let’s see what Freeze had to say this week about the upcoming matchup with Georgia…

Hugh Freeze Opening Statement on Georgia…

“I’m excited to be back home to play one of the gold standards in college football right now, with what Coach (Kirby) Smart has done there in his eighth season. He’s got it rolling, so it’ll be a great test for us. Thank God we’re in Jordan-Hare. I know it will be electric, and we’re going to get the kids that are healthy enough ready to play and compete in this game.”

Freeze on the Georgia/Auburn rivalry…

“Well, I don’t want to quote something that is inaccurate. It’s the oldest rivalry in the South for sure. I don’t know about nationally. Am I saying that correctly? I don’t sense that it has the hatred that is in some other rivalries I’ve been a part of. Nonetheless, I think its intense. I’ll find out. I’m not big on hate. I’m big on that this game means so much to so many people so we should compete in a way out of love for our people. Not necessarily for hate to other people. That’s kind of the way I operate. I hope we compete because we love Auburn and it means something to the Auburn people to compete against Georgia. That’ll be my approach. Love is a great motivator for me.”

Freeze on Georgia head coach Kirby Smart…

“I played Kirby his first year (at Georgia) when I was still at Ole Miss. I know kind of what he inherited because I coached in that game. I know what the outcome was. It is a great testament to his vision, his work ethic, his staff, his administration being patient to have the year he needed to, to recruit.  The dividends are paying off greatly. They are one of the gold standards in college football right now. They are recruiting a top-three class every single year. That is hard to compete with and they are well coached. You have to give them credit. I know it’s a rivalry game, but the truth is the truth. He has built a dang good football program there. It means a lot of things. It means he has the support from the administration and the fans.”

Hugh Freeze on his messaging to the team each week, especially in a one like this one where Georgia is considered the overwhelming favorite…

“That’s a balancing act. I’m always truthful with our team. I tell them every Monday and our truth meeting this afternoon. This game, you’re the favorite, you should win it. This game is a toss-up. You’ll be the underdog, and here is how we’re going to win it. I’ve done that everywhere I’ve ever been. I think it creates transparency and authenticity. At the same time, I tell them to be very clear on the fact that I’ve never walked into a game thinking we can’t win it, and they shouldn’t either. I give them plenty of examples that you’re not supposed to take a Liberty team and beat Arkansas either. Or Virginia Tech. Or Ole Miss when we beat Alabama. But we’ve done that, and we can do it here too.”