Bret Bielema apologizes to Freeze for Florida comments, chats about his '16 signing class
Bret Bielema made plenty of noise late in the 2016 recruiting cycle, landing recruits by the handful during the final days leading to National Signing Day.
He also made some noising on ESPN2 on Wednesday afternoon when he took a shot at Florida and Ole Miss with a comment about the Gators recruiting tactics.
It was a move that he apparently felt the need to apologize for to Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze:
Hugh Freeze just told SI’s Signing Day show that Bret Bielema called him and said his earlier comments were meant to compliment Ole Miss.
— Zac Ellis (@ZacEllis) February 3, 2016
Freeze says Bielema called him to clarify his comments earlier. Meant them as a compliment. Says they are great friends.
— Daily Mississippian (@thedm_sports) February 3, 2016
When he met with the local media to discuss his 2016 signing class, he tried to offer clarification on those comments:
Bret Bielema: I was paying a compliment to UF. This past week, we were competing vs. them for a lot of guys, and we hadn’t seen that before.
— Bo Mattingly (@SportsTalkwBo) February 3, 2016
Bielema says earlier comments meant "Florida is everywhere" in recruiting. He called McElwain/Freeze to clarify that it was compliment
— Thomas Murphy (@TomMurphyADG) February 3, 2016
"I won't compliment anybody in the future as we move forward."
— Eric Bolin (@ericwbolin) February 3, 2016
He said that jokingly, by the way.
— Eric Bolin (@ericwbolin) February 3, 2016
Here’s what else he had to say during the press conference:
Bielema: signees are at 20, would probably cap it at 23. Had spots available for today if needed. Intrigued by graduated players
— Thomas Murphy (@TomMurphyADG) February 3, 2016
Bielema hints Hogs may have some transfers coming in. "These senior transfers are very, very intriguing."
— Eric Bolin (@ericwbolin) February 3, 2016
Bielema: If you recruit the kind of guys you want, and you develop them, good things can happen.
— Bo Mattingly (@SportsTalkwBo) February 3, 2016
"I really felt we needed immediate depth at our offensive line."
— Eric Bolin (@ericwbolin) February 3, 2016
Bielema: I’ve recruited a lot of good running backs, and Devwah Whaley is as good as any of the ones I’ve recruited.
— Bo Mattingly (@SportsTalkwBo) February 3, 2016
Bielema on the 4 LBs: I think they can do two things. They can all run and they can all hit.
— Thomas Murphy (@TomMurphyADG) February 3, 2016
Bielema says Ricky Town is "deficient in Hog-anese. It was like we were speaking French," when he got in during bowl practices.
— Andrew Hutchinson (@NWAHutch) February 3, 2016
