Amid hot seat rumors, Auburn's Hugh Freeze leans on faith and optimism after multiple disappointing seasons with the Tigers

Auburn coach Hugh Freeze is one of the college football coaches on the hot seat after a woeful season that ended 5-7. The Tigers failed to earn a Bowl game in Freeze's second season with the program. In his first year, he led the program to a 6-7 record.

During the SEC Media Days, Freeze once again sounded optimistic about his team's ability to put behind last season's form.

"I expect we'll be in (College Football) playoff run, we'll be in the discussion," Freeze said. "We need the ball to bounce our way instead of against us. The future's very bright in our eyes."

In two seasons with Auburn, Freeze has managed an 11-14 overall record, including a woeful 5-11 record in the SEC.

Hugh Freeze defends the use of his time

According to an On3 report, Hugh Freeze played 10 rounds of golf last month, which left him open to criticism from Tigers fans who were less than impressed with their season last year and the coach's recruitment.

During the SEC media days, Freeze addressed the extensive time that he spent on the golf course and defended how he uses his time during the offseason.

“I really hadn’t had to defend it,” Freeze said. “It’s something I enjoy doing, but I assure you it does not take away from my time working to take Auburn back to the top of the college football world.”

New quarterback Jackson Arnold, who joined from the Oklahoma Sooners via the transfer portal to replace Payton Thorne, also defended his coach during a segment of the "SEC Today" show.

"I'll go and play twice, two times a week, if I have the time to, because I enjoy playing," Arnold said. "At the end of the day, you've got to have something outside of football to go to, and get away from footbal.

"I feel like if Auburn's team last year was 8-4, 9-3, we wouldn't be having the same conversation right now. We didn't make a bowl game last year. Maybe recruiting is a little shaky right this second. I bet you Coach Freeze was playing golf just as much last year as he was this year. People have to have outlets outside of football."

Both Freeze and Arnold will be under the spotlight next season after poor seasons last year, which led to a mountain of criticism and scrutiny when the coach signed the quarterback despite previously being adamant about not spending a fortune on a signal-caller.