Auburn University may have exceeded expectations with its 2023 recruiting class, according to head football coach Hugh Freeze.
As of reporting time, the Tigers sit in the No. 16 spot on the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings. Given the disappointing regular season Auburn experienced, Freeze and company are hoping their recruiting efforts can translate into on-the-field success next year.
Wednesday marked the beginning of Division I football’s early signing period, which will conclude Friday. During the window, high school prospects have the opportunity to sign their letters of intent to play for programs from which they hold scholarship offers.
According to Rivals.com, the Tigers have nine four-star and 10 three-star commitments, with an average player rating of 3.47. Six Auburn commits, according to ESPN, are among the network’s 300 highest-rated players.
During a signing day interview on ESPN’s SEC Network, Freeze, who was named Auburn’s head coach Nov. 29, said the window his staff had to assemble a recruiting class made for a “very uncomfortable” situation.
“[T]o have two weeks to recruit in this conference against the teams we have to go against, to win families and recruits, is a very, very short amount of time to expect a whole lot of success,” said Freeze. “But we as coaches tend to think we can pull off great feats. I’m very pleased with the effort given by our staff and everybody involved in Auburn with our recruiting here on campus.”
"I think we made some heads turn."@CoachHughFreeze making an impact at @AuburnFootball ? pic.twitter.com/aqDL6KGqDK
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 21, 2022
Freeze said he believes Auburn’s recruiting accomplishments “made some heads turn.”
“[H]ow well that will end up today is kind of uncertain,” he said. “But really pleased thus far and thankful we get to represent such a great institution that can attract people in a short amount of time.”
Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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