How has Hugh Freeze performed on the recruiting trail? Where does he rank in terms of Head Coaches in the 2000s, as far as recruiting prowess?
Auburn finished the 2023 High School recruiting cycle with the number 16 ranked class. Before Hugh Freeze was hired, it sat outside the top 50 and at the bottom of the SEC. With such a quick turnaround it begs the question, is Hugh Freeze Auburn’s best recruiter from the past 20 years?
The effort Hugh Freeze has already put in on the recruiting trail is far beyond what we’ve seen.
-Mike G on the Weekend Tailgate
Three of the previous four coaches before Freeze were great recruiters. Tuberville, Chizik, and Malzahn all brought in quality talent in decent quantities. Chizik had issues with keeping a pipeline of talent at key positions. This caused him to struggle maintaining the few stars he had and he lost the team. Malzahn brought in great players, but they didn’t fit his scheme. Elite players would often see the sideline because they couldn’t execute Malzahn’s offense.
Tuberville was as a good a coach as he was a developer. He may not have had the best recruiting class rankings but you cannot deny the talent that he was able to bring to Auburn. He was able to bring in elite players and molded them to fit in his system. The reason Hugh Freeze can take the title from his is the transfer portal. Tuberville didn’t have to re-recruit his own players yearly because they didn’t have the portal to go wherever they liked. In a few years time, this argument will be settled, but the projections lean towards Freeze.
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