Auburn AD Takes Stance on Hugh Freeze's Golf Game

The story of the summer, at least for Auburn Tigers' fans, has been golf, though perhaps not in the way most anticipated. Jackson Koivun’s top-15 finish in the John Deere Invitational, though incredibly impressive, seemed to pale in comparison to the titan that is Hugh Freeze’s golf game.

The Auburn head coach has made waves this summer, spending a large amount of time out on the links while his team’s storied recruiting prowess falls to the levels of Group of Five programs.

Despite this, Auburn Athletic Director John Cohen seems completely bought in to Freeze’s recruiting– and his golf game, for that matter.

“I’ve been on a golf course with Hugh Freeze when a kid called or he called the kid and had a 30-minute conversation with him while he was playing golf,” Cohen said. “You know, some people like to drink. Some people like to fish. Some people like to do all sorts of things. [Golf] is one of his hobbies. … With what he inherited, why are top-level kids deciding to come to Auburn? It’s because of his personal effort.

So, strangely, despite all of the flak Freeze is catching on social media, his own AD seems completely unconcerned with Freeze’s time out on the links. Cohen, as he said, sees an effort from Freeze that, it seems, he’s made apparent to just a select few.

“And look, all anybody cares about is winning games. But that’s the root of winning games,” Cohen said.

Whatever the case may truly be, the fact of the matter is that the optics still aren’t great. Auburn is still 70th in the nation in recruiting in 247Sports' rankings, still struggling to keep recruits, but is sneakily managing to slowly but surely build up a freshman class consisting of the pieces the team needs.

Will Freeze’s strategy work out? Fans seem split, but the general consensus is clear: Freeze needs to post a strong record this year, regardless of how he gets it, or his time at Auburn may soon come to an end.

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