Paul Finebaum shreds Hugh Freeze over messaging on Auburn’s recruiting
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Paul Finebaum has not exactly been blown away by Auburn’s recent stretch in recruiting under Hugh Freeze. Quite the opposite, in fact, with the Tigers posting dreadful numbers coming out of the July 4 weekend.
To this point, Auburn has just 7 hard commitments for the 2026 recruiting cycle. That group ranks 86th in the entire country and is the worst in the SEC, as the only class with fewer than 10 commitments as of July 7.
During his appearance on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” Finebaum admitted that he bought the message Freeze and AD John Cohen were dishing out during the season, but it’s not holding up any longer:
“When I was in Auburn during the season, I got the song and dance from John Cohen about what they inherited. Okay, I bought it, but that’s over now,” claimed Finebaum. “Hugh Freeze has had a couple of seasons, the recruiting looked to be on fire, and now it doesn’t, so quit going back and blaming everything on Bryan Harsin. That has to end. It’s a terrible message… If they keep pushing this message… I think it has already blown up in their faces.”
At this point, Finebaum admitted it’s a dead season for the college football calendar, but SEC Media Days is right around the corner. He’s looking for Freeze to have a better message when Atlanta comes calling, or things could get ugly.
“I think a situation that did not look dire a couple of weeks ago is starting to look bad perceptively. That’s all we’re talking about. We’re literally on the deadest 2 weeks of the year, but if Hugh Freeze walks into Atlanta and tries the same song and dance, it will explode,” Finebaum predicted. “The one place I wouldn’t be in public right now is a golf course… When you subject yourself to a picture and Lane Kiffin can troll you in a nanosecond, that’s a disaster, and that’s really where we are right now.”
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Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
