SEC Snapshot: Auburn Tigers

Spring practices have ended. The transfer portal has slowed to a crawl. We are entering Summer Radio SZN. As such, let’s get our minds right for the upcoming college football season by taking a 10,000-foot view of every SEC football team.

This year, the Wildcats will travel to The Plains, a place that hasn’t been kind to Big Blue Nation. There have been close games, but Kentucky has only one win over Auburn since 1966. The pressure is on Hugh Freeze to deliver in year three, and for the Tigers to reach expectations, it must include a victory over Kentucky. Let’s dive into what is taking up all of the oxygen this offseason for Auburn fans.

SEC Snapshot: Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia

Preseason Rankings

SP+: 25
Returning Production: 22
Andy Staples: 13
ESPN: N/A

Who’s the Quarterback?

Hugh Freeze whiffed in the transfer portal last offseason, and it forced him to play turnover machine Payton Thorne. Auburn was aggressive in the quarterback market, both in the portal and the high school ranks.

Oklahoma put all of its chips on Jackson Arnold and things did not go according to plan. The former five-star struggled under pressure. Even though the numbers weren’t terrible (1,421 yards, 12 TDs, 3 INTs, 62.6%), he needed to look for a new college football home. Arnold has sky-high potential. He was QB1 throughout spring practice, but he’s surrounded by legitimate talent in his position room.

Deuce Knight was a significant high school recruiting win for Freeze, flipping the five-star, dual-threat passer from Notre Dame. They also got another runner from the portal. Ashton Daniels was a two-year starter at Stanford who has more than 1,000 career rushing yards and nearly 4,000 passing yards. He didn’t have much talent to work with and struggled to consistently deliver the football, leading the ACC last fall with 12 interceptions.

Arnold could grow into one of the top five quarterbacks in the SEC. If it doesn’t work, Freeze has multiple legitimate options that could keep the boat afloat.

Main Storyline: It’s Time for Hugh Freeze

Auburn has the most volatile football program in the SEC. In a four-year span, they won a title, went 3-9, and lost in another BCS Championship Game. Even though Gus Malzahn never even flirted with a losing season, it was a wild roller coaster ride that only got crazier once Bryan Harsin came to town.

They brought Hugh Freeze to The Plains to steady the rocking ship by injecting much-needed talent into the program. He’s done that at the high school level, securing the nation’s No. 8 recruiting class in consecutive years, but portal problems have not led to production. Now that Freeze has been there for two years, now is the time to make the jump from a .500 team to near the top of the SEC.

WR Cam Coleman was a bonafide badass as a true freshman and this year he’ll team up with one of the top transfer portal wide receivers, Eric Singleton. They got some dudes on defense too. EDGE Keldric Faulk is a Preseason All-SEC player who should develop into a first round NFL Draft pick.

Biggest Question: Can the Freeze Offense work with Arnold?

If it wasn’t already clear, Hugh Freeze is running out of time and viable excuses. Freeze earned a reputation at Ole Miss for winning big games behind a high-powered offense. One of those quarterbacks, Bo Wallace, went out of his way to call out Freeze for failing to take accountability, instead passing off the blame on his quarterbacks.

Wallace’s theory will be put to the test this year. Is it a talent problem or a coaching problem? Auburn fans could point the blame to the former when Thorne was turning it over time and time again in late-game situations. Freeze has three legitimate options this year. If he can’t get one to play winning football, maybe he just can’t get anyone to play winning football at this level anymore?

Auburn Football Schedule

Freeze dropped the ball with a bunch of cupcakes at home last year. This year’s slate could be rocky to start the season, with Georgia and Alabama coming to Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Date	Opponent	Location
Aug. 30	at Baylor	McLane Stadium, Waco, TX
Sept. 6	Ball State	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
Sept. 13	South Alabama	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
Sept. 20	at Oklahoma	Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK
Sept. 27	at Texas A&M	Kyle Field, College Station, TX
Oct. 4	Bye Week
Oct. 11	Georgia	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
Oct. 18	Missouri	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
Oct. 25	at Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, AR
Nov. 1	Kentucky	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
Nov. 8	at Vanderbilt	FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, TN
Nov. 15	Bye Week
Nov. 22	Mercer	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
Nov. 29	Alabama (Iron Bowl)	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL