Why Hugh Freeze may be the best coach in America

The success in Oxford has put the college football world on notice. Suprisingly, it is an old high school teacher and coach that is helping make Ole Miss one of the premier programs in the country.

Recently, there was a popular debate centered around who would be considered as the “Mount Rushmore” of a particular sport. People began building their campaigns for who the top four players of all time in basketball, football and the list goes on.

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The debate began branching out into subcategories and crossing over into different sports. When we think about the top coaches in college football, two names immediately come to mind: Nick Saban and Urban Meyer. After that, you will likely get the same handful of names including Jimbo Fisher, Art Briles, Gary Patterson and David Shaw. There is one name missing in the conversation, and he resides in Oxford, Mississippi.

It is easy to dismiss Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss with sentimentality. Freeze is after all the infamous high school coach of the The Blindside story with offensive lineman Michael Oher. Last season, Ole Miss upset Alabama at home for one of the biggest wins in program history. The Rebels faded towards the end of last season so it would have been easy to put Ole Miss into the “cute story” category.

The offseason came and went with the typical SEC West teams being mentioned as the favorites. Alabama, Auburn and LSU all stood at the top of the list with little mention of Ole Miss. The Rebels went into Tuscaloosa and upset the Crimson Tide forcing the country to yet again take notice. What will you do with Ole Miss?

What Freeze has done at Ole Miss is nothing short of remarkable. Since Freeze has arrived in Oxford the Rebels have gone 7-6, 8-5 and 9-4. What was their record the two seasons prior to his arrival? In 2010, Ole Miss was 4-8 and in 2011 they were 2-10. Freeze has not just helped the Rebels improve each season, but he is shifting the perception of the program.

The past three offseasons Ole Miss has had top-20 recruiting classes. His signature class is the 2013 class that was ranked in the top 10. The class included Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil and Laquon Treadwell among other star players. It was the year Ole Miss came onto the scene of college football as the Mississippi native sold talented young high school players on the vision of what Ole Miss could become. The class was the talk of the country as Lebron James tweeted out props to the Rebels.

Now the 2013 class is part of the core of the program, and it is somewhat obvious to point to what Freeze has done. He has built a relentless defense and a creative, uptempo offense while selling players on the equal importance of both. While the SEC has been slow to adapt to the changing landscape offensively, Freeze told anyone who would listen that the Rebels were going to play fast.

The past two seasons, he has defeated Saban who in some ways represents the old guard of the SEC. Saban has spent past offseasons campaigning for rule changes to slow down uptempo offenses. While Saban has been resistant to change, Freeze has built his program around it. There is something to be said for returning historic programs back to prominence like Saban and Meyer have done.

However, it takes a special kind of coach to go somewhere that has been mostly devoid of football success and create a national program there. which is what Freeze has done in Oxford.

Freeze’s path started as a high school coach and teacher in Memphis, Tennessee. His success brought him to Ole Miss as an assistant under Ed Orgeron. From there, he went on to coach Lambuth University in the NAIA. He became a coordinator at Arkansas State and eventually moved up to being the head coach and led the team to a 10-2 record and was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year. All this caused Ole Miss to take notice and bring back their native son in hopes he could turn things around.

The Rebels are about to enter the brutal part of their schedule with games against Texas A&M, LSU and Mississippi State still to be played. Ole Miss faces the challenge of avoiding a late season fade as they did last year. Beyond what Ole Miss does this season, Freeze has done something bigger than just one season can accomplish. He has made Ole Miss football relevant, and it is becoming a premier destination in college football.

As far as the premier coaches in college football, Freeze will likely continue to be left out of the discussion. However, it is important to remember that not all jobs are created equal, and it takes a unique coach to do what Freeze has done. If the success continues, Freeze will not only force himself into the discussion but will, more importantly, catapult Ole Miss into the class of elite programs that he has chased for so long.

Next: 30 Best College Football Quarterbacks of All-Time

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