Hugh Freeze reportedly poaching offensive assistant coach from SEC team
Hugh Freeze appears to have found his offensive line coach. Jake Thornton from Ole Miss is reportedly heading to Auburn.
Thornton told Rebels he is leaving for AU, per David Johnson of 247Sports. Thornton was at Ole Miss for 2 seasons with no connection to the Freeze era in Oxford.
Thornton was an All-SoCon college football player at Western Carolina in 2014 and ’15. In 2016, he got his start as a quality control assistant for his alma mater.
In 2017, Thornton joined the Alabama staff as a graduate assistant. From 2018-19, he was the run game coordinator and offensive line coach at Tennessee Tech. He took the same position at Gardner Webb for the 2020 season.
Thornton was hired by Ole Miss in May of 2021. Thornton’s offensive line helped the Rebels rush for 261.42 yards per game, No. 3 in the nation, while allowing only 14 sacks in passing protection.
Will Friend was Auburn’s offensive line coach for the past 2 seasons.