Freeze's First Year is Successful if

[AUfan_UAgrad 230]

For me Hugh has to do 1 of the following to say he had a successful year:

• Go 8-4
• Make it to SEC Championship
• Beat Bama
• Beat Georgia

Again that is 1 of those NOT all of them.  Sorry but I was just not a fan of the Freeze hire and was hoping that after our last several hires we would land a big name.  I'm sure most are like me in that they have had zero people say "Wow Freeze that is a great hire".  And for those that say the above is too much to ask, look at LSU this year and they accomplished 3 of those 4 in Kelly's first year.  Also the transfer portal and record number of players that have entered it already, with the talent that has entered and/or the big potential upside for a lot of them, there is no reason we cannot have a quality team.

[aucom96 1,618]

3 of those are not going to happen. 8-4 could, if we really kill it in the portal. The schedule is as favorable as we could ask, but the roster is in very bad shape. 

I'm not a fan of Auburn's small ball mentality when it comes to the football program, but they seemed determined to stay that course. Freeze is going to have to demonstrate every bit of his supposed recruiting prowess, because he has come into as bad a talent scenario as I've seen since Bowden left town. 

[WarEagle1982 449]

3 minutes ago, AUfan_UAgrad said:

For me Hugh has to do 1 of the following to say he had a successful year:

• Go 8-4
• Make it to SEC Championship
• Beat Bama
• Beat Georgia

Again that is 1 of those NOT all of them.  Sorry but I was just not a fan of the Freeze hire and was hoping that after our last several hires we would land a big name.  I'm sure most are like me in that they have had zero people say "Wow Freeze that is a great hire".  And for those that say the above is too much to ask, look at LSU this year and they accomplished 3 of those 4 in Kelly's first year.  Also the transfer portal and record number of players that have entered it already, with the talent that has entered and/or the big potential upside for a lot of them, there is no reason we cannot have a quality team.

I believe two of those are certainly possible.  8-4 and beating Bama.  We get them at home where we have beaten them 3 of the last 4 and the one loss went to 4 overtimes.  I think Bama could be down more next year than this year.

[DAG 33,980]

13 minutes ago, AUfan_UAgrad said:

For me Hugh has to do 1 of the following to say he had a successful year:

• Go 8-4
• Make it to SEC Championship
• Beat Bama
• Beat Georgia

Again that is 1 of those NOT all of them.  Sorry but I was just not a fan of the Freeze hire and was hoping that after our last several hires we would land a big name.  I'm sure most are like me in that they have had zero people say "Wow Freeze that is a great hire".  And for those that say the above is too much to ask, look at LSU this year and they accomplished 3 of those 4 in Kelly's first year.  Also the transfer portal and record number of players that have entered it already, with the talent that has entered and/or the big potential upside for a lot of them, there is no reason we cannot have a quality team.

Beat Bama or UGA is not enough for me if we are 5-7 or 6-6. Not that I think we will beat them anyway if we are at that level.

Success with me starts with recruiting and competitive play...If we are showing that and go 7-5 I am happy because we are progressing...

[AUinMS9528 1,086]

8-4 is realistic, assuming we fill our needs well in the portal, and close well in recruiting.   

bama and uga are just one game each.  Anything can happen, so who knows.   We’re obviously not even close to their level right now.  
Therefore, SECCG isn’t realistic either.  
 

After what the potato guy did to our program, for me success is mostly about recruiting and portal.   We just really need to get our roster back up to a top half level SEC roster!   Within a few years, hopefully we’ll be competing with bama and uga on the field and in recruiting!

[gr82b4au 5,568]

If he has a top 10 nationally recruiting class next year. 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

10 minutes ago, AUinMS9528 said:

After what the potato guy did to our program, for me success is mostly about recruiting and portal.

Bingo. 

[WarEagle1982 449]

Having said all that I certainly want to see him upgrade the talent way above the current level, but also to play with a passion, desire, intensity, and toughness that we have grown accustomed to seeing from teams in the past.  If we lose to a highly ranked team it needs to be comparable to an 81 Tennessee game or 82 UGA game or something like that.

[WarEagle1982 449]

Also, don’t lose to the damn Mississippi schools!

[AUloggerhead 2,229]

32 minutes ago, DAG said:

Beat Bama or UGA is not enough for me if we are 5-7 or 6-6. Not that I think we will beat them anyway if we are at that level.

Success with me starts with recruiting and competitive play...If we are showing that and go 7-5 I am happy because we are progressing...

Well, we are pretty far behind those two teams.  I'll be convinced we're heading in the right direction if the offense can line up correctly & not false start.  Baby steps ... 

[DAG 33,980]

1 minute ago, AUloggerhead said:

Well, we are pretty far behind those two teams.  I'll be convinced we're heading in the right direction if the offense can line up correctly & not false start.  Baby steps ... 

Right? Not let a free defender run right pass them. I saw this multiple times last year. Literally, a line man watching a guy lined up in front of him, run right pass them without laying a hand on them...It is ridiculous. 

[PoetTiger 1,896]

Coming off the Harsin era, we probably just need to show we can line up tackle and block consistently.

[woodford 3,655]

• He has a great haul in the portal
• Finishes strong with HS recruits pulling some upsets and big time targets
• Competent QB play
• Improved play upfront on both sides of the ball
• Overall better leadership (we saw how they played under CCW)

If they get the right guys in the portal with some improved QB play whether it be from RA or someone else, there's no reason to think Auburn can't win the West. SEC W isn't very good at the moment. Alabama was almost as close to going 8-4 than 12-0, LSU won the division, but they struggled at the end of the season.

I think the West is wide open next year. Nothing really tells me things are going that good in Tuscaloosa with all these transfers. Crazier things have happened. I will feel pretty damn good about 23 if we get a nice haul on the OL.

[AUnCullman 601]

I know we are putting a lot of hope in the Portal but the reality is, every other top tier team is also going after the same guys with just as much NIL money as we have. Very similar to recruiting HS kids, we will have to sell AU as much as our NIL. All schools are going to making bids to these kids (for lack of a better term because it sounds like we are buying kids off the meat market truck). Maybe call it "portalizing" these kids?

[auburnatl1 4,899]

The concern I always had about any candidate was long term ceiling and sustainability. No more wild bipolar fluctuations.  If 2010 and 2013 taught us anything, one great year doesn’t mean a great program. Long term I want see consistent elite recruiting - next year just show strong progression, a foundation,  and momentum to build on

[AUloggerhead 2,229]

40 minutes ago, PoetTiger said:

Coming off the Harsin era, we probably just need to show we can line up tackle and block consistently.

When Harsin came on board, AU was already in a hole wrt recruiting & quality depth on the roster.  My thoughts at the time were that the rebuild would take 2-3 years.  Two years later, where is AU?  Deeper in the hole wrt recruiting & quality depth on the roster.  So how long for the rebuild now?  I can't believe it will be any less than 2 years -- AU will have to take their lumps.    

[icanthearyou 4,462]

1 hour ago, AUloggerhead said:

Well, we are pretty far behind those two teams.  I'll be convinced we're heading in the right direction if the offense can line up correctly & not false start.  Baby steps ... 

You got a problem with 1st and 15?  LOL!

For a while, I was thinking that was just a part of being hard.

[icanthearyou 4,462]

All I need to see is:

Much better talent/roster management.

Consistent improvement.

Not doing anything that could be considered even slightly less than ethical.

Little less preaching, a little more living the faith.

[AUinMS9528 1,086]

36 minutes ago, AUnCullman said:

I know we are putting a lot of hope in the Portal but the reality is, every other top tier team is also going after the same guys with just as much NIL money as we have. Very similar to recruiting HS kids, we will have to sell AU as much as our NIL. All schools are going to making bids to these kids (for lack of a better term because it sounds like we are buying kids off the meat market truck). Maybe call it "portalizing" these kids?

You’re absolutely right!   We’re not the only ones “shopping the portal”.   A couple of major advantages we have are 1.  New coach means clean slate.  We can sell “we need players that fit this scheme”.  
2.  We have a bigger opportunity for immediate playing time than probably any other major SEC team.  
3.  We have a shiny new state of the art facility that very very few programs can compete with.   
Then throw in the Auburn name and all that comes with it and competitive NIL $, and we have an incredibly attractive offer IMHO!

[Hank2020 3,199]

2 hours ago, WarEagle1982 said:

Having said all that I certainly want to see him upgrade the talent way above the current level, but also to play with a passion, desire, intensity, and toughness that we have grown accustomed to seeing from teams in the past.  If we lose to a highly ranked team it needs to be comparable to an 81 Tennessee game or 82 UGA game or something like that.

What we have to remember is that restocking talent has to happen each year now. CFB will look much like NFL in that at least 4 new teams make the playoffs  each year thst did not make it the year b4. Players are going to move to try to help themselves out for many different reasons.

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,945]

Everything has to fall into place for teams as depleted as we are to make a huge jump in wins in a coach's first year.

so to me....

First year is as ALWAYS about seeing improvement.   (game to game and year by year)    I want to see better fundamentals and techniques across the board.   Better completion % by the QB.  Fewer  fumbles/INTs,  better blocking fundamentals,  better coaching strategies,  fewer penalties esp.  stupid ones like:  illegal procedure, false starts,  off sides at important times.  I want to see players that know what they are doing.  I wanna see  A good jump in recruiting rankings by getting players in positions that we are in need.

A bunch more wins would be nice,  but I would be satisfied with 7-5 as long as I see improvement.   Chances are,  with the improvements,  the Wins will come.   BUT,  for a fist year, the wins are not as important to me as obvious improvements.

 

Now, in  year two I want more wins.  By year 3,  a  coach should have all his style players in his system and we will know what we have for a coach. 

oh yeah,  and be competitive in all games.   

Edited December 7, 2022 by Quietmaninthecorner

[AU North 164]

6 minutes ago, Quietmaninthecorner said:

Everything has to fall into place for teams as depleted as we are to make a huge jump in wins in a coach's first year.

so to me....

First year is as ALWAYS about seeing improvement.   (game to game and year by year)    I want to see better fundamentals and techniques across the board.   Better completion % by the QB.  Fewer  fumbles/INTs,  better blocking fundamentals,  better coaching strategies,  fewer penalties esp.  stupid ones like:  illegal procedure, false starts,  off sides at important times.   I wanna see  A good jump in recruiting rankings by getting players in positions that we are in need.

A bunch more wins would be nice,  but I would be satisfied with 7-5 as long as I see improvement.   Chances are,  with the improvements,  the Wins will come.   BUT,  for a fist year, the wins are not as important to me as obvious improvements.

 

Now, in  year two I want more wins.  By year 3,  a  coach should have all his style players in his system and we will know what we have for a coach. 

 

If I may add another item to your list of things to look for next year:  Improvement in "in-game & half time adjustments". We have sucked at this for several years now. The only half time improvements of note were the last 4 games of this year thanks to CCW & staff.  WDE

[creed 1,635]

If the team can pickup with the attitude and effort that Carnell left them with, then I’m happy. That alone should equate to 1 or 2 more wins. But if not, then that’s the way it is and doesn’t effect my role, which is cheering on the Tigers and not arm chair quarterbacking. 

[zeroforwinger 443]

I’m interested in the scenario that has us going 7-5, but fulfilling an objective and making the SEC championship game

[AUY2K 262]

Success will be had if Freeze can find a QB who can complete at least 60% of his passes.  8 wins.

If we are stuck with ashford at QB then 7 wins will be our ceiling.