Following his team's 24-14 loss to Arkansas on Saturday, Hugh Freeze pinned his offense's underperformance on quarterback play.
"I know that there's people open and I know that we're running the football. We've got to find a guy that won't throw it to the other team and we've got to find running backs that hold on to it," Freeze said.
"I know that there's people open and I know that we're running the football. We've got to find a guy that won't throw it to the other team and we've got to find running backs that hold on to it." - Hugh Freeze after Auburn's turnover-filled loss to Arkansas pic.twitter.com/7CQ4ii7ij9
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) September 21, 2024
That was the second time in the game Freeze publicly blasted his quarterbacks. He said this to Auburn radio at halftime:
Freeze was livid on the radio going into Half. He said “I gotta find a QB that doesn’t turn the freaking ball over. We got receivers running open and we’re throwing it to the other team.”
— AUFAMILY (@AUFAMILY) September 21, 2024
Hank Brown, a freshman, started the game and went 7-of-13 for 72 yards with three interceptions.
Trailing 7-0 at the break, Freeze re-inserted Payton Thorne, a transfer who started last season and began this season as the starter. Thorne went 13-of-22 for 213 yards with two touchdowns and an interception over the third and fourth quarters.
Both Thorne and Brown are Freeze recruits. Thorne transferred from Michigan State ahead of Freeze's first season, and Brown was part of Freeze's 2023 high school recruiting class. Freeze made headlines in the spring when he said he "couldn't bring myself" to spend a $1 million on a transfer quarterback to supplant Thorne.
After the game, another Freeze quarterback took to Twitter and blasted his former coach.
"We’re approaching the point that he’s thrown so many QBs under the bus , that maybe no one wants to play for him?? His offense helped me tremendously put numbers up when I blew my shoulder out…. But why is it someone else’s fault every time there’s a loss ?? … but when there’s a win I watch the press conferences just to count how many times the word “I” is used… appreciate what he did for me , my son wouldn’t be playing for him tho," Bo Wallace tweeted Saturday night, in response to the above clip.
Wallace was Freeze's quarterback at Ole Miss from 2012-14, a period which saw an iconic home win over Alabama and a Peach Bowl appearance in 2014.
Wallace previously praised Freeze on Twitter, calling him a "top 5 play caller" and "the best culture builder I've ever seen in my life," last November.
"Do your research on his offenses , excluding his time at liberty , look at the interceptions every qb he’s had play for him throws , at some point when it happens over and over every year…. You look in the mirror , not at the players to save face," Wallace's Saturday tweet concluded.
Auburn (2-2, 0-1 SEC) hosts No. 15 Oklahoma next week.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.