Head Coach Hugh Freeze addressed the media on Early Signing Day, answering questions on new signees and his additions to the football family.
Opening the press conference in a matter-of-fact manner, Freeze discussed the short period of time he and staff had to recruit before future players began signing.
“We came into this considerably behind what I think Auburn should be in recruiting," Freeze said.
The coach followed that statement up by thanking Cadillac Williams, Zac Etheridge and Christian Robinson for keeping connections with recruits and transfers while Auburn was under transition.
The biggest news that came from the conference was that Freeze confirmed that his co-defensive coordinator at Liberty, Josh Aldridge, will become the new linebackers coach at Auburn.
After Freeze left Liberty, Aldridge was appointed the interim head coach. Shortly after Freeze made the announcement, Aldridge took to Twitter to post his thank you to Liberty as he shared his departure.
Freeze said that he is also still looking for a wide receiver coach, a position that is soon to be filled but one that took a back seat as staff focused on recruiting in recent weeks.
“We still have some work to do on the o-line. We're not through there," Freeze said. "We're not through anywhere."
Cornerback Colton Hood, an Auburn legacy, flipped from Michigan State. Another big flip for the Tigers was four-star cornerback Kayin Lee, originally committed to Ohio State
Auburn was also able to secure, Quientrail “Bobby” Jamison-Travis. Jamison-Travis was the No. 1 junior college prospect from the state of Iowa and No. 3 JUCO defensive lineman nationally.
“What a big time get there, what a football player he is," Freeze said.
Keldric Faulk was the biggest get and flip of the day for Auburn. Freeze said that he spent the largest amount of time on Faulk. Faulk is a 6-foot-5-inch, 240-pound defensive back who flipped from Florida State.
Connor Lew, a three-star lineman out of Georgia, flipped from Miami to Auburn. Freeze said that once Lew is put into the “Auburn mold,” he will be a great player.
Auburn also signed its quarterback of the class in 3-star Hank Brown. Brown was previously committed to Liberty under Freeze but signed with Auburn two days after receiving an official offer from the Tigers..
“I’m big on not signing a quarterback that I haven’t seen throw," Freeze said. "I’m very uncomfortable about that and I’ve witnessed (Hank Brown) make every single throw that you need to make… he really has an NFL arm."
Even though the team moved its signing class up drastically today, Freeze is not sure Auburn closed the gap on schools signing higher recruits, but he hopes that within a year’s time Auburn will be up there competing with them. On3 Recruits ranked Auburn amongst their top six signing day winners.
The players that flipped today were the ones that boosted Auburn up into the Top 20 of signing day classes. Freeze also emphasized the fact that he could not have built the relationships he did with recruits if it were not for his staff.
Overall, the recruiting is not done for Freeze. Early Signing Day is a large part of his recruitment process, but National Signing Day still looms in the future and the transfer portal overflows with athletes to be evaluated.
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Lily has been with The Plainsman for three years and started out as a Sports Writer before becoming the Operations Editor. She graduates in May of 2024 and is from Washington, D.C.
