Tag: Freeze

July 15, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze speaks in the Main Media Room during SEC Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

Auburn’s Hugh Freeze keeps cancer on periphery as fall camp kicks off

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Hugh Freeze hit the ground running as Auburn opens fall camp even as the Tigers’ coach takes the field knowing he will likely need surgery for prostate cancer.

Freeze, 55, said he hasn’t felt this good physically to start a season in years.

“I don’t think anything about the health right now,” said Freeze. “Whether that’s right, wrong or indifferent. I talk to docs. I had three of them text me yesterday. They’re awesome. I’ve got a great team around me, but I just don’t have any … I mean, I don’t feel sick.”

Freeze made similar comments in March, when he decided he could postpone any medical procedure until January.

Auburn went 5-7 last season and Freeze said earlier this month at SEC Media Days he’s confident his third year will bring a breakthrough. He has 14 losses — nine against conference teams — in two seasons.

An avid golfer, Freeze has gotten some attention for the amount of time he’s spending around the greens as the Tigers look to close the gap in the SEC. This isn’t the first health concern for Freeze. He had a staph infection in his back while coaching at Liberty in 2019, and said he still experiences some pain. Freeze worked through that serious medical issue, coaching from the press box on game day.

Auburn originally disclosed the diagnosis in February and doctors told Freeze the form of cancer he’s fighting is “treatable and curable.”

“My wife’s got me taking all kinds of natural things that — supposedly — may cure prostate cancer,” Freeze said. “We hope it does. We’ll recheck it in January and see where things are. But other than an old back, I feel great. Sometimes it gets a little tight. But I had that deal at Liberty where I had the infection get in, and I’m always going to have some arthritis there. But my energy is good. I feel great and excited about camp.”

–Field Level Media

Jul 15, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze talks to the media during SEC Media Days at Omni Atlanta Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Hugh Freeze expects Auburn to ‘get over edge’ against UGA, Alabama

Posted on | by Field Level Media

If Hugh Freeze is reading his reshaped roster correctly, his third season at Auburn will become the Year of the Tigers.

Freeze said Tuesday at SEC Media Days that the reshaped roster and experience on his side — not to mention playing rivals Alabama and Georgia at home — is enough to turn the tables in Auburn’s favor in games like those against the behemoths of the Southeastern Conference.

Alabama was two scores better than the Tigers in 2024 (28-14) in the annual Iron Bowl, while Georgia beat the Tigers by 18.

Why does Freeze think this year will be different?

“Number one, playing at Jordan-Hare is a definite advantage in those games for sure,” Freeze said. “And our roster is one that can compete with those teams. We’ve been in the games even the first two years, but we haven’t found a way to win.

“And that’s one of the secrets, I think, to our success this year is having guys that we think we’ve brought in that have the combination of all of it, not just skill set, but this guy’s a winner and has been proven to win and now will help us get over the edge in all these close games like those two will be.”

One of the guys Freeze views as a difference-maker is Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold. He’s in line to be the QB1 for Auburn in the opener against Baylor and should be fully up to speed by the time the Tigers face his old team on Sept. 20.

Arnold was not viewed as the top prize in the transfer portal by every team and won few over with statistics. But Freeze said circumstances painted that picture, and it wasn’t reality.

He was sacked more times than any quarterback in this SEC and sixth-most across all of college football last season.

“I loved Jackson out of high school. I think everybody did. He was a Gatorade Player of the Year, top quarterback in the country coming out. Boy, he fit everything that I believe in doing offensively, (offensive coordinator Derrick) Nix does too. We’ve been together a long time, and he just fits that,” Freeze said.

“So I knew how I felt about him then, but of course you’re doing this speed dating here and things weren’t great statistically or whatever performance-wise. Then you have to do a deep dive into why was that, and can I get past whatever that was. When you evaluate it, you said it, he had several different play callers, injured offensive line and receivers, and yet when you pull all of his throws, I still saw that there it is, that’s what I saw. There it is again. He still has that about him.”

Freeze lauded the toughness Arnold brings at the position. He said the Tigers are offering him a needed restart to prove who he is as a player.

Arnold, also at SEC Media Days on Tuesday, said he has no ill will toward the Sooners for their decision to move in another direction. He was replaced as OU starter after only four games last season.

He wound up back in the starting lineup by the end of the season and beat then-No. 7 Alabama. That win opened Freeze’s eyes because of Arnold’s guts and big plays with his legs.

One of his next big chances to open some other people’s eyes will be his SEC debut with Auburn — in Norman.

“Things happen. Things happen for a reason,” Arnold said. “Sometimes things work out the way it’s supposed to be. You know, we’re on God’s timing, you know, not our timing. And, for me, I felt the best decision for me was to move on and move on somewhere else to get a fresh start, like you said, and go out and do what I know I can do with this Auburn squad this year.”

–Field Level Media

Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze greets fans during Tiger Walk before Auburn Tigers take on Oklahoma Sooners at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze battling early stage prostate cancer

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, the university said Friday.

Auburn said Freeze’s cancer is in the early stages and is “very treatable and curable.”

Freeze, 55, will continue with his coaching duties while undergoing treatment.

“Recently, Coach Freeze was diagnosed with an early form of prostate cancer,” the school said in its announcement. “Thankfully, it was detected early and his doctors have advised that it is very treatable and curable.

“He will continue his normal coaching duties and responsibilities, and with forthcoming proper treatment, is expected to make a full recovery. Coach Freeze is incredibly appreciative of our medical professionals and has asked that we use his experience as a reminder of the importance of prioritizing and scheduling annual health screenings.”

Freeze has an 11-14 record after two seasons at Auburn. The Tigers went 5-7 last season and didn’t qualify for a bowl game.

Freeze was coach at Liberty for four seasons before taking the Auburn gig after the 2022 season. He also has held Division I coaching jobs at Arkansas State (2011) and Ole Miss (2012-16) and has a 94-57 record.

Auburn’s spring drills are slated to begin in late March.

–Field Level Media

Nov 25, 2023; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers running back Brian Battie (21) returns a kick during the first quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Auburn RB Brian Battie critical after shooting; brother killed

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Auburn kick returner and running back Brian Battie remains in critical condition after a shooting early Saturday morning in Florida that claimed the life of his brother, Tommie Battie IV.

Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze said Monday that Brian Battie had a “setback” Sunday night and that he remains on a ventilator.

The shooting occurred in Sarasota. Police said there were multiple shooting victims when they arrived at a plaza. Tommie Battie IV was pronounced dead at the scene. Four others were transported to area hospitals.

Brian Battie averaged 23.0 yards on 28 kickoff returns in 2023, his first season at Auburn. He was also fourth on the team in rushing yards (227), scoring a touchdown. He played his first three seasons at South Florida, rushing for 1,185 yards during the 2022 season.

–Field Level Media

Auburn Tigers football coach Hugh Freeze poses with associate head coach Cadillac Williams at the Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, Ala., on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022

Hugh Freeze keeps Cadillac, plans U-turn at Auburn

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Hugh Freeze mastered the microphone with two talking points that always tickle the ears of Auburn fans: War Eagle and Nick Saban.

Freeze was introduced as head coach of the Tigers on Tuesday and spent the majority of his opening monologue praising and thanking interim head coach Cadillac Williams, also a former Auburn running back, for pulling personal pride and competitiveness back on The Plains.

Not long after the press conference, Williams released a statement confirming he was staying at Auburn as associate head coach.

“I accepted the position and am excited about working with him and learning from him,” Williams said, with a not-so-subtle directive for those fans who wanted him to remain head coach. “I ask that the Auburn family join me in supporting Coach Freeze and getting Auburn football back on the winning track.”

Auburn will reportedly pay Freeze $39 million over six years to turn around a program attempting to recover from back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1998 and ’99.

In the immortal words of Jerry Reed, the Tigers have a long way to go and a short time to get there.

Freeze follows Bryan Harsin, who was fired at midseason, and as of Tuesday had a commitment from only one of the top 15 rated seniors in the state. While Freeze said he’s anxious to get out of the blocks, Saban and Alabama are cruising to the lead, destined for yet another top-10 finish and top-5 recruiting class.

“Well, you don’t take this job if you’re not built to want that and I welcome that,” said Freeze, who beat Saban twice while Ole Miss head coach. “I want it, I want to be in that arena. I really, really, really enjoy that type of game. … I hope they’re a little nervous today.”

Auburn finished last in the SEC West the past two seasons.

Freeze arrives not from Ole Miss but Liberty, granted another life in coaching a marquee program despite being cited for 21 NCAA violations which led to 27 wins being vacated. That includes one of the victories over Saban and Alabama (2014).

Freeze, 53, resigned from Ole Miss and was out of the game for two seasons. He became the coach at Liberty in 2019. He won eight or more games in each of the past four seasons, including a 3-0 record in bowl games.

Freeze spent one season at Arkansas State, when the Red Wolves went 10-2, and five coaching Ole Miss. He was dismissed from Ole Miss prior to the 2017 campaign after it was discovered he made inappropriate calls to a female escort service from his school-issued cellphone.

“I don’t believe in deserving something. I believe in earning something,” Freeze said Tuesday. “And I do believe we fought to earn this. It’s been rocky at times. But you can become overcome with emotion because of — truthfully, I feel like, and this is no offense to another school or anything, but I feel like I’ve leapfrogged where I was at that time by being in this family and this culture here. And I loved my time there, but I see this as one of the top 10 football programs in the nation. And I believe that.”

–Field Level Media