In the SEC, when everything is going right, your fanbase loves you but, the moment anything goes wrong every single thing you do is studied under a microscope. Hugh Freeze is quickly finding out how quickly the Auburn fanbase is willing to flip on him as the Tigers stumble on the recruiting trail. As June draws to a close, Auburn has just 5 players committed and their recruiting class ranks 61st in the Country.
When Nick Saban retired, Auburn fans declared that Hugh Freeze was going to dominate recruiting in the SEC over the "outsider" Kalen DeBoer. As things currently stand, Freeze only holds a commitment from 1 of the Top 10 players in Alabama which is the same as Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide however, appear to be the front runner for the State's 3 5-star recruits which has Auburn fans in a panic.
What could be the cause of Auburn's drastic fall on the recruiting trail as the Tigers are ranked 53 spots lower than they finished last season? The Auburn fanbase may have found their answer as one message board commenter pointed out that Freeze may be playing too much golf.
🚨GHIN TRACKER ALERT 🚨
— Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) June 23, 2025
Information available from the USGA's Golf Handicap Information Network reveals that #Auburn coach Hugh Freeze played golf 10 of the first 20 days of this month. #WDE pic.twitter.com/Hn64Gx9PIv
Auburn fans quickly checked the Golf Handicap Information Network and found that Hugh Freeze had played Golf on 10 of the first 20 days of June. Fans quickly checked for themselves to see how much Freeze was playing golf and confirmed the issue.
This is actually diabolical. If my coach is ever a single digit handicap, he ain’t crootin enough https://t.co/quWS0eY6SY pic.twitter.com/Wk414bgY8t
— James Geeb (@DabPenBellamy) June 23, 2025
While Hugh Freeze is allowed to do whatever he wants in his free time, playing golf that much is a bad look with the way things are currently playing out. In the last 11 days, Auburn has lost 4-star linebacker JaMichael Garrett, 4-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle, and 4-star wide receiver Devin Carter while several other recruits have picked other schools.
Given that Hugh Freeze is currently on the hot seat after a terrible season, the thought was that he'd be all in on building an elite recruiting class. Hugh Freeze will now need to either rally on the recruiting trail or have a great season this year otherwise, his tenure in Auburn could end much sooner than expected. Freeze golfing isn't a problem but, the optics of playing golf this often right before a recruiting dead period is not a great look.