Ahead of Hugh Freeze’s SEC Media Days appearance this Thursday, the Ole Miss coach sat down with ESPN’s Marty Smith for an interview Monday.

Freeze and Ole Miss haven’t exactly had a fun few months since the NFL Draft, where the world saw Laremy Tunsil in a gas mask, not to mention the social media nightmare that ensued and the accusations that many pointed at Ole Miss.

Freeze told ESPN Monday that Tunsil actually sent him a letter, even though he hasn’t talked to him since the draft, but he wouldn’t open up about what exactly it said. He would only hint at what it said.

“His sincere love for me. That’s probably all I should say,” Freeze said.

Describing the tone of it, he said: “There was a sweetness to it, but I knew that’s who he was. He’s a good kid, has a good heart.”

The interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith has yet to be seen, but some quotes emerged Monday evening. Freeze told Smith that the negative attention is starting to wear on him, and Smith shared those comments with Paul Finebaum on the SEC Network this afternoon.

“I promised myself I would never get callous in this job, but I do see how it can make you that way,” Freeze said. Asked how close he was to being callous, he said with a laugh: “I’m pretty close.”

Freeze will face the media circus in Birmingham Thursday, and you can bet it won’t be too comforting of a time for him.