Hugh Freeze on the Samford win, starting SEC play, offensive improvements, plus injury updates

AUBURN — No disrespect meant towards UMass, Cal or Samford, but the preseason for Auburn football is over and SEC play is here.

Following three straight non-conference wins to start the season, Hugh Freeze and Co. travel to College Station, Tex. for a matchup against Texas A&M on Saturday. The game will kick at 11 am CT and be televised on ESPN.

“There were some good things and some things we have to improve on for sure. We played a lot of kids, which was good, but a lot of young kids tend to make mistakes and we had quite a few of those also,” Freeze said. “We have to continue to work on not turning the ball over in the red zone. Outside of the two turnovers, we were pretty efficient. Defensively, I thought we were solid, particularly with the older guys. I thought our older guys did fairly well, but the younger guys made a lot of mistakes, truthfully. We have to bring them along as the season progresses.”

Here’s your SEC opener stat: Auburn is 25-5 in their last 30 SEC openers. The Tigers’ last SEC-opening loss was at home to LSU in 2018.

Here’s takeaways from Freeze’s weekly press conference on Mondays inside the Woltosz Performance Center.

Texas A&M ranks second nationally in third-down defense and first in the SEC, allowing only seven conversions in 34 attempts this season. Freeze calls it a “great concern,” then went into a longer commentary on the talent gap between Auburn and teams like A&M, Georgia, LSU (Auburn’s next three games) and others. It’s a good dose of reality from Freeze.

“I want to be really clear: We’re playing a team, I’m probably too candid and honest for some people. Let’s be really clear: We’re getting ready to play three teams that have, over the last four to five years, ranked in the top seven to five in recruiting. You’re playing the best recruits in the nation. We’re going to be there soon. That doesn’t mean you can’t compete and win the game and all that, but there’s a reason they are third in the nation in third defense, and that’s because they have a bunch of five stats on the defensive line and linebacker and safety and corner.

“They are really talented. When you put on the film, you see that. Their closing speed is incredible. They are physical up front, and it’s a tall, tall challenge for us, in year one, to stand toe-to-toe with A&M, Georgia, LSU — it’s our goal to get there, but that’s what reality is. We’ve had about eight months to recruit half a class. These others have been stacking it. That’s why they are ranked third in third-down defense. They are incredibly talented.”

Auburn’s running backs accounted for 30 carries and 86 yards against Samford. Yes, the Bulldogs crowded the box, but Freeze wasn’t pleased with the effectiveness of the running game overall.

“We didn’t run the ball as well as I’d hope in this past game. They were committed to stopping the run. They were anchored in there, bringing the safeties in there…We’ve said all along we feel good about that room. It’s important we keep them fresh and play to their strengths. I like all four of them, and Sean (Jackson) too. Jeremiah (Cobb) gives us some flexibility, too. He can do a lot of things we haven’t even gotten to yet. He’s dangerous with the ball in his hands. We’ll continue to explore ways to get our best guys on the field.”

Freeze talked more about Cobb, saying they plan to design more plays for him, hopefully, to utilize his speed in the SEC.

“He’s probably the fastest kid we have in that room. Speed is a good thing. I like all of those guys, they’re all different. Him with the ball in his hands on the perimeter is just a little different. It’s a mater of figuring our what can he handle within the scheme of what we’re doing. We’ll always be trying to find him ways to get touches.”

On that note, Freeze wasn’t pleased with the play of the offensive line against Samford. Multiple penalties, and injuries, really shook things up and produced a not-very-effective performance.

“That was not our best game. Our pad level was high. They were really committed to stopping the run…but we could have played more physical, I do believe that. It wasn’t as good as the Cal game or the UMass game. I think (Kam) Stutts sets the tone and losing him, he’s the leader of that group.”

Starting nickel Keionte Scott will have surgery on Monday and be out indefinitely.

With Scott injured, Freeze and the defense will have to figure some things out at the nickel position. Donovan Kaufman is expected to start at nickel, while Caleb Wooden could play nickel or move back to safety. JD Rhym is also an option at nickel. Wooden tallied six tackles against Samford.

“(Wooden) played solid, he’s still learning. The star position has to help us get lined up a lot. They throw a lot at you now, stuff we haven’t seen. That was a difficult challenge. We’re toying with the different combinations with our injuries back there. Hopefully DK will play, maybe move JD there, play some young corners and keep Caleb at the high safety. We’re not sure what that looks like.”

With Scott’s injury, the health of this Auburn football team is suffering. Freeze is hopeful Donovan Kaufman plays on Saturday, but is unsure the status of starting O-linemen Kam Stutts and Izavion Miller.

“It’s a great challenge. We have to get some young guys ready. They’re going to get baptized into the SEC pretty good in front of A&M’s crowd and the talent on that team. Izavion and Stutts didn’t finish the game and don’t know where they stand. I think DK will be fine. We need all these guys come Saturday. Hopefully we’ll have a good week of rehab and they’ll be ready to go. It’s concerning right now.”

Starting safety Jaylin Simpson could be the primary punt returner in Scott’s absence, but Freeze said the team will work a number of players there this week.

“He’s going to be valuable with his presence in the back end. We’ll start catching punts with a lot of different people today. Koy Moore has done it. Caleb Burton has done it. We’ll get on the jugs twice this week and make sure we feel comfortable. Jaylin could be one, too.”

The quarterback position was once again a hot topic. Freeze repeated much of what he said last week regarding shuffling of the quarterback position.

“That’s the plan (rotating QBs), as long as we’re playing well. It’s just like life, you have to do your job well. If you do your job well, things usually work out. If you don’t, then it doesn’t work out. We have confidence and I thought (Payton Thorne) threw it really well the other night. He made one bad decision, the other we should own as coaches. The guy was like 18 yards away from doing something that I don’t know another Auburn quarterback has done maybe ever. We hope we build on that and maintain confidence from it.

“At the same time, Robby (Ashford) has a role. I’ve been clear on that, especially against the level of athleticism we’re about to see. There’s a role for him, too. He threw it well when he came in the other night. You can’t be herky jerky in and out. That’s something we all agree on.”

Auburn’s defense has forced seven turnovers in three games, including five interceptions. The Tigers’ defense also leads the nation in red zone defense, allowing just three scores in seven tries, along with ranking fifth nationally in third-down defense.

“That would be a blessing if we could continue that trend to get some turnovers in these games, particularly on the road. If w can take care of the ball, we have to continue to work on that. Turnovers will play a huge role.”

Do road teams benefit from early morning kickoffs? Freeze believes so.

“I love early kicks on the road. I think our kids will. And I don’t think that’s a huge challenge, truthfully. It’ll be like a fall camp day, so I don’t think there’s a huge adjustment there. I like early kicks.”

Freeze was asked about Auburn’s first offensive possession against Samford when the Tigers threw the ball three straight times inside the Samford 6-yard line, including twice from the 1-yard line.

“I was disappointed in that a little bit. I don’t mind the first one, but I didn’t like the second one. We have to approach that differently. I think I made that clear. Sometimes you out it in your quarterbacks hands, but I think it should be on us and don’t give him the option if we’re not OK with him throwing it.”

Auburn’s passing game produced 340 yards and 75 percent completion against Samford. It will be a tall task to continue that production in College Station.

“We’re still learning who we are, truthfully, in the receiver room. That will continue to be a rotation there. The biggest goal this week is keeping yourself in third and manageable. You can’t survive in the third and longs against them. They are really talented.”

Freeze mentioned that at least 12 of Payton Thorne’s completions were on true RPO plays, where it’s a “box count issue,” and Thorne has the option to hand off or pass. “The other night, we were pretty efficient in the RPOs.”

Freshman defensive end Keldric Faulk is seemingly playing well. He has seven tackles, a tackle for loss, QB hurry and pass breakup in limited snaps over three games.

“He had his best game on Saturday. He’s starting to learn. He’s young. He had his best game for sure and we’ll need him moving forward.”

In something we discussed on the latest Auburn Live Show, the Tigers’ ability to rush the passer from the defensive line has been lacking through three games, and now the competition will only get tougher.

“We haven’t done really well rushing the passer with just the front. Jalen McLeod has been hurt and he’s probably our best pass rusher, we miss him for sure. We’ve had to create it other ways. (A&M) presents a great challenge. They are doing some good things offensively and it’ll be a great challenge to keep them from having explosive plays, particularly ones that lead to points.”

Freeze knows a good offensive mind when he sees one, and he sees one in Texas A&M offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.

“He’s really good. We have to do a great job of disguising things. He’s going to make you stop 12 personnel and spread sets, and then you combine the talent level he’s coaching…it’s a very, very difficult task.”

Freeze likes the amount of young players that have played thus far.

“I don’t know exactly how they will respond, but we’re forced into it, truthfully.”

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