What follows is a rough transcript of Hugh Freeze's appearance on "Tiger Talk" Monday night. This is not meant to be a comprehensive transcript. We try to have fun with it.
• ANDY is Andy Burcham, the official Voice of The Auburn Tigers.
• NOT ANDY is Brad Law, who is not the Official Voice of the Auburn Tigers yet is terrific in his own right.
NOT ANDY asks about this being game week. "Excited to get back at it. It was a good open date; came at a good time for us both physically and mentally. You need, every now and then, a break from it. We've got a tough stretch ahead of us."
ANDY asks Hugh to dene a successful off week. "That we were able to get some kids healthier. That we're able to hopefully correct some inconsistencies. The margin of error is so small for us right now that we can't afford to not execute properly. Some of the things I look at on film are fixable by coaching better."
NOT ANDY asks teaching last week, plotting out the (two) practices. "It was a little different because we had Fall Break. With Fall Break falling on Thursday, we just did Tuesday and Wednesday. It was two days. Having the Fall Break made those two days, honestly, pretty good work."
ANDY asks about things being physical last week. "I would like to go out and be physical every day ... but we're thin at some spots. So you're always tempering that. Wednesday was a good, physical practice."
NOT ANDY asks about recruiting this past week. "I don't know that your focus is any different on recruiting than a normal week, but you go out. It's a non-contact period. You're getting to see the kids you're recruiting. Got to see quite a few games. We're out and being present."
ANDY asks about the message Auburn gives these recruits. "Number one, we're trying to build it primarily though high-school recruiting and genuine, real relationships that last the test of time. Will that work still is today's time? We'll find out. That's where I'm most comfortable. The teams that are playing for the SEC championship and beyond have had at least three recruiting classes that are in the Top 10. (That's) changes things. When you have three (classes), you're looking at an 85-man roster that ... should be full of equitable talent. Before our arrival, there were no Top-20 classes."
NOT ANDY asks if adversity is easier to manage if you build things gradually. "We live in a world today ... where all of our top kids are getting calls from top schools. It's filthy, it's dirty, I think it's crazy. The temptation is for them to listen to voices ... that care about immediate gratification. We're trying to do our best to educate and obviously develop those real relationships with them that last those tests. It's going to be tested. We'll find out ... in a little while what's real and what's not. It could be very, very sad and disappointing. If so, we'll regroup and go find other players. You sure would like to think there's still a group of guys that want to stick with a process of helping the school I chose rebuild itself."
***COMMERCIAL BREAK***
ANDY asks about the Mizzou game. He mentions that Mizzou got crushed by A&M. "That game went south on them pretty quick and they just couldn't regain momentum. There's too much consistency with their seven straight home wins, many returners, best skill players, best quarterback play we've seen, really good defensive front. It's definitely a Top20 team if not higher."
NOT ANDY asks about a Drinkwitz offense. "Very balanced, very multiple. Lot of different pictures. You've got to prepare for a lot of different stuff. It's really him moving (WR Luther) Burton and those guys around."
ANDY notes that Mizzou's defense is good. "They're really good up front. Corey Batoon ... is one of my good friends. He was with me for eight seasons. Very, very, very talented defense. We're really familiar. I don't know how that's going to play out. It's probably more advantageous for him. We've changed all of our signals. We'll have to be careful with some of the verbiage that's been carried over. I know what he likes to do. He knows what we like to do. At the end of the day, our kids are going to have to make more plays and the same will be true for them."
ANDY asks about going on the road to Georgia two weeks ago. "I thought we handled the road fine. I didn't think the noise ... affected us, truthfully. I also felt like we have to expect more of ourselves (in terms of) consistency. That's everybody -- coaches and players."
NOT ANDY asks about Auburn's OL. "I think we've run blocked fairly well. We probably need to be running it more. Our average is pretty good, per-run average. That would be big in this game ... to control the game some and keep the ball away from their explosive offense. Our O-line has been inconsistent in some pass pro, but pretty consistent in the run game."
ANDY asks about young players on defense, are they starting to excel? "I don't know if 'excel' is the word, but they're getting better and better. It's not a lack of effort. I really think the future is bright for those kids."
***COMMERCIAL BREAK***
NOT ANDY asks if early kickoffs are good on the road. "Oh heck yeah. Give me the earliest we can kick off on the road so we can get back to Auburn." GUFFAWS ALL AROUND. "I wish we were a morning-practice team and then I wouldn't worry as much about that. On the road, how early do you want to kick it? I'll take that any time."
ANDY asks about Freeze coaching at Mizzou. Freeze says he's coached there once against Gary Pinkel and it was COLD. (This was in 2006 when Freeze was an Ole Miss assistant coaching tight ends. The Rebels lost by 27 points.)
NOT ANDY asks about holding into the ball on the road. "We've quit talking about taking care of it. Everybody knows if you don't do that, you have very little chance to do that."
ANDY wants to talk about the second half of the season. "It's all Missouri right now. I know we have (more games) coming ... but it's not we're sitting here thinking about the Kentucky game or the Vandy game."
NOT ANDY asks about his Auburn's young DBs will benefit from having just played Georgia. "No offense to Georgia, but these receivers (at Mizzou) are a little more talented. Offenses are similar. Georgia's runing backs are good, too. The quarterbacks are very similar, very accurate. With the two receivers (Mizzou has), they're elite. It's probably a little taller challenge than we had at Georgia."
"War Eagle, guys, thank you."
Not a subscriber to AuburnSports.com? YOU SHOULD BE.
Join today!
