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Chris Low
Auburn, ala. – About three months after his second season of consecutive loss in Auburn, Hugh Freeze discovered in February that he had prostate cancer.
“At the time, the only thing you hear is that word” C “,” said Freeze in Espn on Tuesday.
Admittedly, shaken and more frightened for his family than anything else, Freeze has since designed a processing course, and after having obtained encouraging news recently doctors that his form of cancer was not very aggressive, he decided to wait until January and let the doctors re -examine his situation instead of undergoing surgical intervention.
“I am only 55 years old. We are a family of faith, and I just didn’t have the impression that it was time to rush into surgery,” said Freeze. “I am at peace with that.”
The same goes for his football team while Freeze enters his third season on the plains. He does not in any case be satisfied with the results in the last two seasons – and he is not naive about the lack of patience in the field of dry football – but Freeze has been frank when he arrived that he would take three complete recruitment lessons to find Auburn in the championship conflict. Its first two were both the first 10 courses nationwide.
“I think it is also installed that we have been it as a program, the continuity of our staff, the parts of our staff that we added and what we were able to do to build our list in the recruitment of the Lycée and in the Portal,” said Freeze. “Now we have to go and win other games, but I have no feeling of panic.
“We are about to go where we want to be and where we should be.”
Auburn had a winning season in 2020, when it was 6-5, and won more eight games than twice (2017 and 2019) since he played for the national championship in 2013. The Tigers finished 5-7 last season.
Freeze said that the support and commitment of the Chancellor of Auburn Christopher Roberts and the sports director John Cohen could not be stronger, and in the world of name, image and resemblance, Auburn takes place financially on the main actors. The wage bill of the 2025 list will exceed $ 20 million.
One of the main acquisitions was the quarter-Arrière Jackson Arnold, who was transferred from Oklahoma. Arnold was the prospect of the Quarterrière with Double threat of ESPN in the 2023 signature class, but it was put in the bench for part of last season after some early difficulties.
“A hundred percent, I needed reset,” said Arnold. “It was just time to move on. I had to go to a place where I was going to put myself in a better position. I will never say anything harm about the O or one of the people there, but it was simply not an adjustment. And as the season was going, it was perhaps they lost confidence in me or anything, but I never doubted it.”
Arnold said that it was particularly important for him to play for an offensive head coach and one with a story of a development and a development quarter. Freeze said he was planning to call the majority of the pieces this season (although the new offensive coordinator Derrick Nix could appeal), and Freeze said that he would spend more time with quarters on the training field this fall.
“(Quarter coach) Kent Austin is great,” said Freeze. “Fundamental principles and recognition of the cover and all this, it is better than me, but I think it is essential that they hear my thoughts, and I think this fall would be even more vital than Jackson hears my thoughts.”
While spring training ends this week for Auburn, Arnold said that his relations with receivers are strengthening each practice. And for Freeze, he said he had seen a “monumental difference” in the receivers, in particular with the addition of Eric Singleton Jr. transfers from Georgia Tech and Horatio Fields by Wake Forest.
“We have more depth, and there is also a maturity factor,” said Freeze. “I know that the quarter-arre gained the weight of the agreement, but there were times when the starter (last year) Payton (Thorne) was ready to press the trigger on something that should have been there and we did not run the right depth of routes or the right route.”
Cam Coleman, who has an average of 16.2 yards per capture and had eight receptions touched a year ago as one of the most announced first year receivers in the country, said his accent was more coherent. He said the entire reception corps had assumed a leadership role in pushing each other and held responsible, which was not necessarily the case a year ago.
“Each receiver brings something different to the table, and our identity is that we will catch everything and anything, by all means that possible,” said Coleman. “It doesn’t matter if we make the quarter-back look good or if the quarterrrière makes us look good. We are going to catch the ball and make things happen.”
Singleton’s speed should complete Coleman’s ability to win individual battles on the ground, and Malcolm Simmons is just as explosive. He returns for his second season after catching 40 passes last season. 6-3 Coleman said it was up to 205 pounds.
“Good luck. That’s all I can say to anyone trying to cover it,” said Singleton about Coleman.
Arnold said that his role was to come and “play the leader” and that the frost also likes its ability to prolong games. The tigers had trouble scoring last season. They finished 14th in the SEC in rating attack (19.1 points per match) and were 13th in conversions in third advance, while only scoring six -ground in eight dry matches. But they moved the ball in attack and finished second in the league in yards per game (6.67 yards). Three of their seven defeats last season were by a hit or less.
What tormented the tigers were paralyzing reversals, coming empty on the third stockings and unable to finish the readers – or even make goals on the ground. They were 8 out of 17 on the attempts to go on the field in the dry game, but the good news is that the regular botter Alex McPherson is back after missing almost all season spent gastrointestinal problems.
“We are all in the same way, and I know that for a fact, these coaches believe in me and they know that I can do it, and in turn, I was able to play much more,” said Arnold. “The mistakes will occur. No one will be perfect, but my confidence is really high at the moment. I’m playing free and I am myself.”
Even with the diagnosis of cancer, Freeze also felt a feeling of freedom. His players saw him closely and staff.
“He is here every day, and it gives the whole team the feeling he cares, and that whatever he goes through, he will pass,” said Keldric Faulk Junior. “It gives us the confidence to simply go behind him.
“The only difference I see is that he has brought much more energy, and it’s contagious for the whole team.”
Freeze would tend to agree that his diagnosis of cancer helped him reduce his goal, although life as a dry football trap tend to have this effect naturally.
“I don’t know. I think everything that is just a reminder that every day is a gift, and guy, I’m going to give the best of these children, my family and our fans,” said Freeze. “This is what I should worry.”
