Hugh Freeze has a Trust Problem in His Quarterback Room

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze hasn't gotten competent quarterback play his first-two years in charge of the program.

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze hitched his wagon to Payton Thorne, but has been quick to criticize or even bench him. / John Reed-Imagn Images

After Auburn's at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs, head coach Hugh Freeze stepped to the microphone, and In no uncertain terms, placed blame at the feet of quarterback Payton Thorne. 

Now, while Thorne should not escape blame for his part in the poor execution, the onus needs to stay mostly with the head coach. Yet, you don't have to be Cyndi Lauper to see that time after time, Freeze manages to find new and worse ways to fault the quarterbacks. 

He Bought the Groceries

The brain trust in the athletic department imbued absolute recruiting power in Freeze, which every coach seems to enjoy. As a result, Payton Thorne's presence on the Plains directly connects to Freeze's wishes. Freeze made the decision last winter to stick with Thorne, and continued to back him during the summer.

After watching him throw 10 interceptions on 265 attempts in 2023, it's not like Thorne's poor decision making in 2024 is an aberration.

Likewise, Hank Brown and Walker White's suiting up in orange and blue fall upon Freeze's shoulders, whether he likes it or not. The younger players chose the school in the Freeze regime. Can't fault the Harsin Err, Era for any of this mess. When you look at the Tigers' quarterback room, you see a senior transfer, maxed out on ability and college potential who has yet to get a chance to progress and improve. 

In addition, you see a redshirt freshman with a bit more upside, yanked after a disastrous half of football. To Freeze, from the outside, it looks like he believes the offensive scheme is infallible, capable of doing whatever he likes. In reality, the hubris shown in that probable belief melts away with the high numbers of interceptions of his starting quarterbacks. 

The Quote

When you see a coach sell out a player in this manner, the problem resides within. In no world will Payton Thorne, at the tail end of his college career, morph into a wholly different player.  So, expecting something different borders on the dictionary definition of insanity.

The quote feels self-serving, deflective and antithetical to how a coach/quarterback relationship needs to relay itself to the public. Judge for yourself.

"He absolutely didn't go with what we had called. Payton's a thinker; he knows football," Freeze said of a botched 4th-down play to start the 4th quarter. "He decided to try and run some type of zone-read there. I think everybody was a little confused, but we definitely weren't on the same page there. I should have used one of our timeouts there when I saw things were going awry"

Bottom Line

Hugh Freeze's record at Auburn sits at 2-4 this season and 8-11 overall. The team ranks 79th nationally in red zone conversion despite having an All-SEC running back in Jarquez Hunter. Freeze chose to kick two field goals from the ten-yard-line and closer. A decision completely his own. 

Instead of sending a strong message, Freeze chose the opposite. In front of a large crowd at Sanford Stadium he didn't trust his offense. The very one that he will take credit for when it succeeds, to not gain nine yards. That speaks volumes to those that keenly observe. Waving the proverbial white flag during a game, crushes morale and deflates a team. 

Hugh Freeze tethered himself to Payton Thorne, essentially flushing the first two years of his Auburn tenure. In the offseason, the transfer portal teemed with quality quarterbacks that could seamlessly fit into the scheme.

Instead, Hugh Freeze chose obstinance and the arrogance to throw his chosen starter at quarterback to the wolves. Football teams live and die with a culture within. Currently, this team possesses as much culture as potato salad, spotted with raisins, left in the Eufaula sun.

It stands to reason that recruiting and developing a quarterback, free of bad habits from previous stops, will be Freeze's salvation. Deuce Knight could be that guy for Auburn, but he doesn't arrive until 2025, and how long will it take him to be SEC ready?

The 33rd president, Harry Truman famously emphasized the buck stopped with him, taking ownership for the decisions of his administration, good or bad. That buck runs clear past the Auburn head football coach’s office.