Auburn's Freeze lands first recruiting class: 'Something special'Auburn's Freeze lands first recruiting class: 'Something special'
Austin Perryman / AU Athletics

Auburn's Freeze lands first recruiting class: 'Something special'

by Jeff Shearer

AUBURN, Ala. – Loading up on linemen, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze and his staff rocketed into the top 20 of the 2023 recruiting rankings by landing 19 future Tigers Wednesday in the early signing period.

“A wild two weeks for us,” said Freeze, who was introduced as Auburn’s head coach on Nov. 29. “We came into this considerably behind what I think Auburn should be in recruiting.”

Thanking assistant coaches Carnell Williams and Zac Etheridge, along with Auburn’s recruiting staff, for keeping the class together during a head coaching transition, Freeze said the signees and their families bought into the opportunity to rebuild the Tigers’ program.

“There’s something special that could be occurring here,” Freeze said.  “I tried to sell that to these kids to be part of the resurgence. They’re setting the tone with our returning guys.”

Auburn’s 19-member class includes two Tigers who switched on signing day: defensive back Kayin Lee and in-state defensive lineman Keldric Faulk from Highland Home.

Merry Flipmas, as the saying goes.

“He was one that I was going to be on the phone morning and night, every single day, trying to convince him that this was the best place for him,” Freeze said of Faulk, one of five in-state signees. “We did a good job of building the relationship and also the gift he can give his mom and family to be really close and do something special here at Auburn.”

Of Auburn’s 19 signees, 12 are linemen: five on offense and seven on defense.

“We tried to focus on big men,” Freeze said. “This is a big man league. If you don’t have guys on both sides up front, it’s very difficult. Those DBs get a lot better if you’ve got an edge rusher who can shorten the time the quarterback has.”

The Tigers added five defensive backs, one receiver and one quarterback, prioritizing prospects who plan to enroll in January and participate in spring practice.

“If a kid told me he was a mid-year he went from a two-star to a three-star because I’ll bank on our coaching staff,” said Freeze, who expects a dozen signees to enroll in the spring semester. “If a kid has some ability, I think we’ll get the most out of it. If he was a three-star, he became a four-star.”

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Auburn’s Class of 2023 signees will be the first to train in the newly completed Woltosz Football Performance Center, a facility Freeze expects to pay further dividends as he and his staff continue to connect with prospects.

“We’re thankful for it. I think it’s incredible,” said Freeze, who placed magnets featuring graphics of each signee on a whiteboard in Auburn’s new football building as their signed letters of intent arrived digitally. “Give us time for them to get to know us, our vision, see us compete on the field, plus this facility. Then we’ve got a good combination.”

When Auburn hired Freeze three weeks ago, the Tigers’ recruiting class ranked in the 40s. As of Wednesday afternoon, ESPN ranked Auburn’s class No. 17.

The Tigers will look to continue their ascent on the traditional signing day, Feb. 1, 2023.

Said Freeze, “We still have some big targets out there.”

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer

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