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Charles Barkley Issues Blunt Reality Check to Hugh Freeze Before Auburn's 2025 Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jeremy Beren | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 1:37 PM ET

Auburn's appeal for blue-chip recruits hit its nadir in the months before the university hired Hugh Freeze to lead its football program. Freeze's first year in 2023 saw the Tigers reach the Music City Bowl, but 2024 saw the team take a step back, putting pressure on Freeze in year three.

After a 2-1 start in 2024, Auburn lost four consecutive games, including tight one-score contests with Oklahoma and Missouri. Though the Tigers were in position to achieve bowl eligibility with a victory against the Alabama Crimson Tide, defeat in Tuscaloosa brought their season to a close.

Entering 2025, Auburn has a new-look quarterback room occupied by blue-chip prospects Jackson Arnold and Deuce Knight. Sophomore receiver Cam Coleman has been cited as one of the nation's most underrated players, while Malik Autry and Antonio Coleman are highly-touted players on the defensive side of the ball.

“We’re just gonna have to play our behinds off. It’s that simple.” Charles Barkley on year 3 under Hugh Freeze pic.twitter.com/spbmYuctfO
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) June 5, 2025

While Freeze himself is aware of the expectations entering 2025, one of Auburn's most famous athletes too has made clear that the Tigers must improve amid the excitement around their new-look roster.

"He's got to have a good year, it's that simple," NBA legend Charles Barkley told "The Next Round." "He can't go 6-5. They have to make the decision about what's a good year or a great year, but we have to see something positive."

Barkley saw how Auburn regressed in 2024, as SEC powers like Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee further entrenched themselves as elite teams in the conference. Auburn will have a chance to pull off an upset of Georgia when the Bulldogs visit Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 11, and the Tigers will host the Crimson Tide this time in the annual Iron Bowl on November 29.

In order for Auburn to progress though, Barkley made it clear what he thinks Freeze's men need to do.

"We're just gonna have to play our behinds off," he said. "It's that simple.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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