Hugh Freeze Puts Pressure on Auburn’s WRs: “They Better Make Plays”
Auburn football fans are eager to see the Tigers’ wide receivers take a big leap this season. With standout KeAndre Lambert-Smith moving on to the next level, the focus now shifts to the returning “Freeze Four”—Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons, Perry Thompson, and Bryce Cain—along with two key transfer additions, Eric Singleton Jr. and Horatio Fields.
While Singleton’s blazing speed has already set him apart, wide receivers coach Marcus Davis believes Fields’ experience and leadership mentality will help fill the void left by Lambert-Smith. Meanwhile, Coleman and Simmons are coming into their own after a full season of experience, adding depth and playmaking ability to the unit.
With so much talent in the WR room, one might expect confidence from head coach Hugh Freeze—but instead, he issued a statement that raised eyebrows.
“They better make plays,” Freeze said, per Auburn Undercover. “If that room doesn’t have success, we won’t have success. It’s one of the more talented rooms I’ve ever been associated with.”
He even compared them to some of the biggest names he’s coached in the past, including DK Metcalf, AJ Brown, Van Jefferson, and Evan Engram. However, he stopped short of declaring them at that level just yet.
“It’s a bit early for me to put all of that on them, but it rivals it. It’s close,” Freeze admitted.
He also noted that the young players are finally settling into the system.
“Even Malcolm and Perry, just a second year in the same system, with the same terminology, doing the same things, you see them now catching on,” he explained. “There were times last year where Payton was ready for Malcolm or Perry to do something, and it didn’t always happen. But now you see them executing at a better level. We are very much dependent on that room having success.”
That’s a lot of pressure for one position group, but with Freeze entering his third season at Auburn, the stakes couldn’t be higher. After back-to-back losing seasons, the Tigers need wins—and if the wide receivers don’t deliver, Freeze could find himself on the hot seat.