Coach Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers have wrapped up their day at the College Football Hall of Fame for SEC Media Days, and one common theme appeared evident.
The Tigers have high aspirations as they prepare for the 2025 season, and they believe they boast a squad poised for a bounce-back year. Auburn is confident it can show significant improvement on the field, and Freeze and his staff aren’t ignoring — nor are they threatened by — the expectations of the fans and the program as a whole.
“We’re embracing the highest of expectations,” Freeze said on Tuesday morning. “It’s time for us to start climbing that mountain and winning some of those games.”
Since he was hired in December 2022, Freeze has consistently pointed to year three as the season that Auburn could take its next step and compete. He believes that, considering the Tigers’ 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes and holes filled this past offseason through the transfer portal, this is Auburn’s time to finally see those off-the-field successes come to fruition on Saturdays.
“There’s no reason, with the chemistry among our staff, the additions we’ve added to the roster, the two top-10 recruiting classes,” Freeze added. “We’re expected to compete in every single football game. We had some difficult breaks last year go against us, so it's our turn this year for them to bounce our way.”
Freeze hired Derrick Nix as his new offensive coordinator last January and has mentioned numerous times how crucial he thinks it is to have similar terminology floating around meeting rooms and working with familiar personnel.
Nix and Freeze were both on staff at Ole Miss from 2012-16, with Nix holding the same position under Freeze as offensive coordinator. Now, the two have over a year together on the Plains under their belts.
Keldric Faulk, one of the nation’s best defensive ends and projected first-round NFL draft pick, expressed a similar belief regarding the management of external noise and potential this year’s team possesses.
“I feel like it's a lot of outside pressure on us just because of the past two seasons, but I feel like our team is so much more confident than they were in the past couple years,” Faulk said. “I don't feel like anybody on the team is overwhelmed with the pressure. I feel like we're embracing it because that's what we want. And our expectations for ourselves are even greater than the expectations that people have for us.”
Faulk spent the last two seasons accompanied by vocal players on the defensive side of the football like Eugene Asante, Jalen McLeod, and Dorian Mausi, who all graduated this past year. Consequently, he is now tasked with filling that void, but like Freeze, welcomes the challenge.
“Last year I was one of the leaders that led by example. Like you said, a lot of them left and they were one of the most vocal ones on the team, so I had to take over that role of just being a little more vocal, letting people hear my voice because a lot of people like to say when the team hears my voice, a lot of people listen,” Faulk said. “One, just keep going and leading by example, but also trying to lead the young guys and getting the transfer guys in and adjusted as well.”
Experts expect the 6-foot-6, 280-pounder to have a monster junior campaign, and he could possibly crack the top 10 in April. Faulk recorded 30 solo tackles and seven sacks in 2024, but looks to take an even further step forward this fall.
However, Auburn’s defense doesn’t stop there, as Faulk holds high hopes for the entire defensive unit and praises the promising young talent that backs him up.
“I feel our defense could be the best in the country, in my opinion,” Faulk said. “We have so many guys that played last year that were young, especially in our secondary. Our secondary was containing mostly freshmen and second-year guys.”
Auburn’s defensive backfield was indeed young in 2024, but also extremely skilled. Cornerback Jay Crawford and safety Kaleb Harris made their presence known during their inaugural season last year, and redshirt sophomore safety Sylvester Smith is another young piece that will contribute heavily for D.J. Durkin and staff in 2025.
Junior corner Kayin Lee is expected to start opposite of Crawford with Harris and Smith rounding out the Tigers’ starting secondary. Redshirt junior Champ Anthony, coming off a season-ending injury vs. Arkansas last year, will likely see minutes at the nickel.
“I feel like everybody has another year under them. Really that's another year of maturity. So, I do expect a lot out of our whole defense. We should, at the end of the year, be the best defense in the country.”
As Faulk and the Tigers prepare to kickoff 2025 in under 50 days, he reflects on his decorated past and itch to start emerging on the victorious side of games this fall.
“When I came through high school, I was never used to having a losing season,” Faulk reflected. “And a lot of guys who come to Auburn, we never were used to having a losing season. So just to get back to our winning ways, it’s vital for me. I want to feel the drive just for at the end of the game to know that we put a team away.”
In order to achieve that, Faulk claims their success anchors on one thing.
“For us to do that, we've got to be more consistent. And we practice consistently. We have to work out consistently. We have to eat, drink and sleep consistently.”
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
