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Former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron has fired fierce criticism at Auburn football head coach Hugh Freeze. McCarron criticized the Tigers’ current recruiting cycle while appearing on the latest episode of “The Dynasty” podcast.
The Crimson Tide legend didn’t hold back in his scathing review of Freeze’s performance on the recruiting trail. He said:
“Well, I’ll just start by saying this. Hugh Freeze is full of sh*t.”
He continued:
“I think Hugh Freeze is trying to do whatever he can to save face. He’s starting to feel pressure at Auburn. I think not going into his third, not having the success that the alumni, the boosters, everybody donating a lot of money thought that he would have by this point.”
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He added:
“I think he’s trying to figure out and scramble on why they are not successful. I played golf with somebody that’s really connected at Auburn, and he was even talking about it from a sense of supposedly they had $50 million leading up to this year in their collective.
“They were wanting to go out and get athletes, and they’re pissed on the fact that it hasn’t been successful like they thought it would be.”
Hugh Freeze’s recruiting struggles and rising expectations
Hugh Freeze’s Auburn has had considerable success over the last couple of recruiting classes. It had the No. 10 class in 2024, per 247Sports. Similarly, its 2025 class was ranked No. 8 nationally by 247Sports.
However, Freeze and his staff have been finding it difficult to replicate this level of success with their ongoing recruiting class. With just eight pledges, Auburn’s 2026 class is ranked 78th nationally by 247Sports. This fact is made worse by its rival Alabama’s success with its current class.
The net effect of this is the increase in the pressure of expectations mounting up on Freeze’s shoulders. The former Liberty coach is not oblivious to the pressure building up around him, especially because of the subpar recruiting campaign so far. However, he recently suggested his program’s struggle with recruiting is more a result of other schools bending the rules.
According to him, Auburn is not flouting the rules and standards of recruiting. But analysts and rival fans like McCarron will not agree with Freeze.
However, his real source of pressure is from Auburn fans and supporters who’ll be expecting more from him as he enters his third year.
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