Hugh Freeze Addresses Accusations of Coddling Auburn Tigers QB Jackson Arnold

Recently, a couple of ESPN reporters raised concerns about Auburn Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze’s potential coddling of quarterback Jackson Arnold. Former Auburn center and SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic told On3’s Josh Pate last week that he had heard that Freeze had told defensive coordinator DJ Durkin to “essentially make life easy on Jackson Arnold in practice to boost his confidence.” 

Fellow SEC Network analyst Dari Nowkhah told Bo Mattingly and Chuck Barrett of the Chuck and Bo Show on ESPN Arkansas that “Hugh’s been telling other media people, ‘we had to ask DJ Durkin and our defense to make sure practice does not end without Jackson feeling confident.” 

Wednesday, ahead of Auburn’s opening practice of fall camp, Freeze was asked if he had told Durkin and the defensive staff to take it easy on the Oklahoma Sooners transfer during the spring.

“Yes!” Freeze said with a big smile.

Freeze reflected on some of his previous coaching processes and how he has changed over the years, before laying out his plan with the quarterbacks during practices.

“I also used to be very adamant the number one priority of practice is for our quarterback to leave that field confident,” Freeze said. “I’m going back to that this year.”

That comment alone leads one to believe that the concerns from Cubelic and Nowkhah were overblown. 

“We just have to be really intentional about what we’re doing in this period and making sure that our quarterbacks have an adequate chance to really be prepared and have success in it, not try to win a drill but try to get better in every scenario,” Freeze would go on to say.

“If it is dirty ball period where everything is being thrown at the quarterback, then the quarterback should know that, and that’s fine. If it’s not that, then let’s work together and make sure we’re preparing him. I think the worst thing we can do for any quarterback, Jackson in this case, is to go out and practice this afternoon, and we have scripted plays that have zero chance of success.”

It appears that Freeze’s treatment of Arnold in the spring has a lot more to do with overall team success from a football standpoint than it does with Arnold specifically. More importantly, it has little to do with Jackson Arnold himself and everything to do with how Freeze handles his quarterbacks in general.

So, Auburn fans can relax. It would be one thing if Freeze had been trying to take it easy on his new quarterback for the sake of babying his mental health, but structuring practice to overall team success is standard football procedure.

In saying that, anticipate the kid gloves to come off a little more as fall practice kicks off Wednesday afternoon.