Malcolm Simmons Learns Valuable Lesson, Gets Earful from Hugh Freeze

Malcolm Simmons ball handling error opens the door for Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze to deliver some tough love.

Auburn Tigers wide receiver Malcolm Simmons scored two touchdowns in his debut, but it was close to being just one. / John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Huge 70-point wins against vastly inferior opposition will certainly get you in the habit of crossing the plane of the end zone. While that's in large part all gravy, there's still some issues in that department, especially for budding Auburn Tigers star receiver Malcolm Simmons.

During Simmons 57-yard scoring catch and run on Saturday night, the talented young freshman very nearly let the ball slip out of his hands prior to crossing the goal line.

Ultimately, Simmons' brief lapse of concentration didn't end up costing anything, but head coach Hugh Freeze confirmed via his X account reply to Mike Gittens, that it did indeed elicit a reaction.

Yes he did!!!!!!

— Hugh Freeze (@CoachHughFreeze) September 1, 2024

Some minor nitpicking, but Freeze is clearly determined to keep his young unit very much focused on the little things. Of course, that's particularly pertinent with far tougher challenges lying ahead - starting with the Cal Bears this weekend.

"Five newcomers with a receiving touchdown, most team passing yards in the opener," Freeze noted post-game. "It should have been more; we had some drops and two bad decisions by the quarterbacks. So, solid, solid day."

Call it the exuberance of youth, or even the amnesia brought on by scoring in a big win, but Simmons was a lot more focused on the positives when he spoke post-game.

"The coaches kept harping on going out," Simmons explained. "Every time you are on the field, just playing 100 percent and that would lead to that."

Freeze is bound to find some chinks in the armour of his team, as much as anything else, he knows how he must keep the more youthful elements of his squad completly grounded.

Even so, Saturday's lopsided victory was notable because it served as a real coming out party for the "Freeze Four", well the three members who hit pay dirt anyway. Indeed, Freeze seems entirely comfortable on the whole with letting his precocious young group of receivers cut loose, with Simmons noting that this Tigers offense will also attack in multiple ways.

"It was a big task, with us throwing the ball, it's going to open up the box," Simmons insisted. "When we run the ball, it's going to open the receivers to go in on 1-on-1s to score."

Fact remains, nobody will be allowed to get carried away and lose their concentration, so being forcibly reminded of smaller errors is very much fundamental to the process of polishing this team up to much higher standards.

In all fairness, Simmons only suffered a momentary lapse of execution as he sped toward the end zone, but what's particularly encouraging is how the explosive pass catcher's confidence remains sky-high moving forward.

"We had a long summer," Simmons declared. As long as we come together, we are going to put up points and do what we do as a receiver room."

Simmons might not face an easier opponent in his college career. It was a perfect time to get a freshman mistake out of his system as the Auburn Tigers hunt bigger prey starting this week with Cal.