The Auburn Tigers are headed into year three of the Hugh Freeze era and hope things go a whole lot better than they did over the first two.
Freeze comes into this season under more pressure to win than perhaps he has been throughout his career, but it seems his roster may be the most equipped to do just that as it has in his entire time at Auburn.
That conversation starts at quarterback, and expected to start for the Tigers is Oklahoma transfer and former top five-star recruit Jackson Arnold.
Freeze spoke about his team and the battle going on between Arnold and incoming freshman Deuce Knight during an appearance with Paul Finebaum and seems to be incredibly excited about the potential that Arnold has to take the next step within the Auburn offense:
Hugh Freeze likes what he’s seeing from Jackson Arnold this offseason 👀
“Jackson has all the tools to be one of the top quarterbacks in the nation.” @AuburnFootball pic.twitter.com/k29vfxcCy3
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) April 14, 2025
“I’m really excited about Jackson,” Freeze said, relaying that Arnold and Knight received virtually all of the reps in spring which was a good thing for them. “Obviously he has all the tools to be one of the top quarterbacks in the nation in my opinion…he just needed probably a restart for whatever reason and I’m excited about what I saw. He’s got the arm strength he’s got the legs, got the football IQ, I think he just needs confidence and I think that confidence grew this spring along with his rapport with our receivers.”
Freeze did pump the breaks slightly and say that the confidence really comes with success in battle, but that he really likes what he sees from his presumptive starter.
Interestingly as some pointed out in the replies, it was rare if ever seen for Freeze to talk about his previous quarterbacks at Auburn in this light.
There is no question Arnold is an upgrade from the likes of Payton Thorne and Hank Brown, however it has been ugly in college so far for the former five-star.
Freeze being able to unlock that potential that made Arnold such a highly rated recruit is going to be key to not only this season, but potentially his job security as well.
