Hugh Freeze Teases Larger Role for Auburn Tigers Freshman Wide Receiver

With some injury doubts this week against Arkansas, Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze teased a larger role for freshman wide receiver Malcolm Simmons.

Auburn Wide Receiver Malcolm Simmons (11) during the game between the Auburn Tigers and the New Mexico Lobos / Photo by Zach Bland, Auburn Tigers

Everything that's gone before for the 2 - 1 Auburn Tigers has led up to the visit of Arkansas this weekend, and yes, that even extends to that humbling loss suffered against the Cal Bears.

Unleashing the more explosive young players they've got on offense would therefore make perfect sense, because things absolutely cannot afford to go backwards again, especially with redshirt freshman Hank Brown under center.

Unfortunately, the untimely injury absence of phenom pass catcher Cam Coleman has taken a major weapon away from Brown - in the short term at least.

As a direct consequence, it sure sounds like coach Freeze is carving out a much bigger role for freshman wide receiver Malcolm Simmons to compensate just a little.

"Talent wise, he deserves to be on the field some," Freeze said this week. "So I do think it's time. I did say that before I came down. It's time for us to have a package. I'll find another box on the call sheet that just says Malcolm and then just grow with him because he's good enough to be on the field."

On sheer talent alone, it stands to reason that Simmons must be incorporated more and more into the Tigers offense, but Freeze did of course chew him out for a near shocking mental error in Week 1 action. Simmons had three catches for 91 yards and a touchdown against Alabama A&M but only two catches for 18 yards in the following-two games.

Perhaps the real rub for Freeze is to develop some concepts that can work for his dynamic playmaker, and accomplish all of that while he's not overloading the call sheet for Brown to translate to the suddenly-youthful Auburn huddle.

Of course, Simmons is also a young player who's trying to get the entire playbook down on-point, but Freeze feels his guy is definitely getting to where he needs to.

"Understanding what to do on every single call that we have in the call book for that week and that's been the biggest struggle," Freeze confessed. "I'm not beating him up at all 'cause I love this kid, love him, love everything about him, but he's a hundred miles an hour at everything he does with a smile on his face. But that everything he does might be a corner route when it was not even close to what we're supposed to be doing. And he's getting better."

For all the ups and downs which inevitably come with the territory, at least Simmons has proved a willing pupil thus far. That aforementioned enthusiastic approach has already brought praise and admiration from his head coach, so it's now about putting some real flesh on the bones as such.

Both head coach Hugh Freeze and new starting quarterback Hank Brown have been keen to stress the monumental importance of responding to the challenge that SEC games will now present.