Hugh Freeze has a reputation for developing quarterbacks. During his stops at Ole Miss and Liberty, the Auburn head coach helped signal-callers such as Bo Wallace, Chad Kelly and Malik Willis become star players.

So, whether it was him being honest or a little humble, it was a bit surprising when the coach said this about Kent Austin, now serving as his offensive analyst, on Thursday.

"He's the best quarterback coach I've ever been around," Freeze said. "That's really not my forte -- the fundamentals. I'm more of, 'Hey, here's the big picture. Here's what I want it to look like at the end. Now you go get his mechanics right to get it done.' He really is the best at looking at a quarterback and saying, 'This is exactly what he needs to improve on. This is what he needs to do."

Yes, Austin was the unsung hero at Liberty, where he shared offensive coordinator duties with Freeze and helped Willis and the Flames become one of the most potent offenses in the nation. And, even after taking a quasi-demotion when coming to Auburn, Austin's role will not be any less vital. Freeze says he sees Austin as his chief quality control on offense, leaning on him to ensure that every instruction down to the minutiae of details is followed by the players, assistants and Freeze himself.

"He has the freedom from me to say to anyone in that room, 'Whoa, whoa. That's not what we said, and we have to get it fixed,'" the head coach said.

And, while new offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery will be in charge of play-calling with a bit of help from Freeze, Austin will play a significant part in game-planning during the week, something Freeze says he is excellent at.

"I think he's going to be huge for us in that off-the-field role," the coach said.

As far as taking a step down from an on-the-field coach to an analyst position, Freeze could not be more complimentary of his right-hand man.

"That speaks to his humility," he said.