No-Huddle Notes: What we heard from Hugh Freeze to open camp
Here's the latest on Malcolm Simmons' status, injury updates and the freshmen to watch as Auburn football gears up for practice.
AUBURN — The word for this Auburn football camp is “expectant.”
So much of the offseason in college football centers on expectations. Auburn is a team that has fallen short of expectations for the last several seasons, namely four straight losing campaigns for a program that expects to compete for championships.
This is increasingly feeling like a make-or-break season for Hugh Freeze, whose team regressed in the win-loss column in his second year on the Plains. Auburn, once again picked in the bottom half of the SEC, is in full “believe it when you see it mode” for many. The Tigers haven’t been their usual selves this decade.
But, on Wednesday morning, Freeze wanted to talk about how excited he was for the upcoming season. That “expectant” theme word has already carried over to the roster, one that is the most talented — on paper — in several years. The Tigers want everyone to know that they believe they have what it takes to end the drought in 2025.
“Pumped,” Freeze said. “Told our team last night in our team meeting that I'm probably more excited about this fall camp than I can remember in a long time. They sense that from our staff and I sense that from them. … I just think they're locked in and excited, from what I see in the chemistry and in this building.”
Of course, you can probably go to the first day of camp at Auburn before every single one of these losing seasons and see similar sentiments. However, there’s no talk about “rebuilding” or “talent gaps” anymore. This team is talking victories, real ones.
“We're expecting to be a really good football team that competes in every single game and has a chance to win every single game,” Freeze said. “And hopefully we're better in those critical moments, and we flip some of those close losses into wins. We're expecting that.”
Auburn had a walkthrough on report day Tuesday and went through another one Wednesday morning. The Tigers will hit the practice field, for real, Wednesday afternoon.
We’ll have Observations from what we’re able to see and hear at practice later today for subscribers. Until then, here are the highlights of what we heard from Freeze in his camp-opening press conference.
Wide receiver Malcolm Simmons has been cleared to participate in team activities. On July 16, Simmons was arrested and charged with felony assault involving suffocation or strangulation. Freeze said the decision on Simmons’ status with the team was “based on information” from “campus administration, who have knowledge of the matter.”
Jason Caldwell of Auburn247 has a detailed story on Simmons’ situation. According to Caldwell, Simmons was the subject of a Title IX investigation by the University’s Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance. This put the matter out of the hands of the Auburn football program. Simmons “was placed on an Interim Notice of Removal,” which meant he was banned from campus for anything except for final exams or meeting with the EOC office. Caldwell reported that “after interviews with the alleged victim, as well as a witness and Simmons,” the investigation “found Simmons not responsible.”
Simmons’ interim removal from campus was lifted after the investigation. He is expected to practice Wednesday afternoon and be available throughout camp in preparation for the start of the season. Simmons still has a preliminary court date for the case. That has been moved from August 13 to August 8, according to Justin Lee of the Opelika-Auburn News. Simmons’ lawyer filed a motion for the date change.
Auburn has a relatively clean bill of health for the start of camp, which is a far cry from the injury-heavy spring it had. However…