Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze addressed reporters just before 1 p.m. Wednesday to recap National Signing Day and Auburn’s recruiting efforts thus far.

He arrived moments after four-star DL Amaris Williams announced he had flipped his commitment from Florida to Auburn.

“Sorry guys,” Freeze said when he walked in. “I was a little bit tied up.”

Below is a full transcript of Freeze’s National Signing Day press conference.

Opening statement…

“First, just thanks to our staff and so many that contribute to the recruiting process. It’s not just the people in this building. It’s the academic support staff, our administration, the student body when we’re on campus and have activities. So many people pitch in. The pilots. Just so many people pitch in to contribute to the efforts that go into recruiting. It’s a large, large, large task. It takes everybody from personnel to the recruiting staff and obviously the coaches that are involved in the actual on-the-ground recruiting.

I thought the effort that was put into trying to make our first class here a top-10 class, which was our goal—I don’t know where we stand with that. I can’t keep up with all of that. That was our goal, is in Year One to have a top-10 class and in Year Two to have a top-five class. And that is the way I think you start building a program that is able to stack itself upon each other and create a competitiveness among the roster that drives you to chase a standard every day that’s needed to win in this conference.

And so, just thanks to all the people that pitched into that. It takes obviously the people that have helped fund this building, and the facilities and resources we have, it’s all a part of the journey. So, thankful for the effort. I think I couldn’t have asked any more out of the effort that it took to try, in a short amount of time, to get into the battles for the top guys. Because truthfully the elite schools are always a couple years ahead. We had to close the gap on a lot to get in in those battles. We didn’t win all of them but we sure were in them.

And I think that speaks to the effort we put into building relationships with so many. So excited about this class. We focused on the high school class. I said that in our press conference the other day. I don’t know that that’s the right approach. But it’s certainly — I did not want to — I wanted them to feel like they’re the priority. So we did not chase hard in portal on everyone that could play, and there was a lot that could, because we were just committed to making sure that our high school class felt like they were the priority of us establishing the true rebuild here at Auburn.

Now we’ll go from here and hopefully they’ll be, the missing pieces that we did not land, we will hope that we can find them either between now and the spring term or after the spring practice and that portal opens again, we’ll see what happens then with what our needs will be at that time. I’m excited about the class, obviously. Just thrilled with the effort. I really believe that the young men that we signed, and the families they come from—I love these kids. I love them as individuals. I think they’re genuine. I think they want to help a program re-establish itself as one of the elite programs in the country. And I think they love to work at it. I’m excited to get a lot of them here soon and go to work.”

On a focus on flipping recruits versus keeping what Auburn had committed already…

“It was both. I mean, you can’t – listen, last night it was – there’s some schools in this conference, they believe in last-night efforts. You gotta fight. You gotta hold on, and you gotta stay up all night and play video games and do stuff that’s out of my comfort zone. There was some late-night pushes. We held on some and won one and lost one. People in this conference are good at what they do. I don’t always like what is done, but you’ve just gotta have plans and you’ve got to fight for it.

But it was both. You’ve got to try to hold onto your good ones and all of yours, and then try to win a few battles at the end on some kids who are undecided.”

On recruiting that is still needed on the offensive line…

“That was one position in the portal that we knew we probably needed a few and we didn’t get the two guys that we kind of focused on in the portal. I love the two that we have – DeAndre (Carter) and Seth (Wilfred). I think Seth was named yesterday (a) First Team All-American. It’s something that we saw in him. Obviously, DeAndre is one, I think he’s going to be an NFL inside guard/center. Love him as a kid.

“I think we got two really good ones there committed. There’s still one out there we’re battling for, or two that we’re battling for. Hopefully they’ll be – if we need more, hopefully there’ll be a few that go in the portal that we can try to get in on. There’s no question, that one position has been the biggest challenge for me to try to figure out and for Jake to try to figure out. We’re still trying to figure that one out, truthfully.”

On Freeze’s thoughts now that this class is completed…

“Walker White, I think is going to be a star, I think he’s got all the attributes of what a quarterback should like. I think he’s a true Auburn man. Obviously don’t know how quick he will adjust to this game, but I think he’s got all the skill sets to do that. And then you move to where, it’s no secret, we needed to get some difference-makers at the receiver position. To land two of the top 10 in the nation in Perry (Thompson) and Cam (Coleman) and then two others that I think are sleepers. But they are ranked in, what, the top 150 in the country? Bryce (Cain) and Malcolm (Simmons).

“Now, they’re going to have to get thrown into the deep end of the pool and swim pretty fast, but I think they have that ability. It changes our offense if we have guys like that on the outside and in the slot that can make plays. I’ve seen them do it. I’m reminded when we started rebuilding Ole Miss, that first full class just like this first full class, we talked a guy by the name of Laquan Treadwell in coming with us. It changed the way we called games. I feel like the same about Cam and Perry and Malcolm and Bryce. You combined Walker with those, I think we did pretty good at the skill positions.

So, I think the time I chose to maybe spend away from the offensive side of the ball, it paid some dividends there, and for sure— I would argue that we have— again, I can’t keep up with all the rankings and polls and stuff, but I would argue that our receiver class and our linebacker class has to be two of the top in the country. I don’t know how they rank that or anything, but if you take me (Jamonta) Waller and (Joe) Phillips and (D’Angelo) Barber, I would venture to guess that we rival most any linebacker class that was signed from the high school ranks, along with the receiver rankings.

I’m also excited about our DBs, with Faustin and Amon Lane, and Jalyn Crawford and Laquon Robinson. Am I forgetting somebody there? — and Kaleb Harris, who’s really physical. And we need that.

And then defensive line, I think between TJ Lindsey and Malik Blocton, Jamota Waller and Gage Keys, I think we’re improving ourself there. We’re still looking for a little more help there also, but I’m really please with the linebackers there, also we have Dorian Mausi from Duke at linebacker, that’s a very experienced guy that has signed with us also, so we’re steadily building.

So I’m pleased for the time I took away. I think it did pay dividends.”

On what’s next for Auburn…

“Well, availability today is— that number moves constantly because of the freedom that players have today. It’s hard for me to say what’s available and what’s not. As far as the number for Friday, I don’t even know what number we’re at right now. … We’re at 24 right now, but we’re in some battles for three kids left that I know of. I don’t know that all of them will sign today or not, but we’re in some battles there and then there’s a few portal guys that we have an interest in, so I really don’t know what the number would be at the end of Friday.”

On the wide receivers in the class…

“Yeah, I forgot about Robert Lewis, who I think’s a really solid player that gives us some experience and it’s good that he’ll be here in the spring.

Well, I like length and catch radius, so I’m glad that we’ve added some of that. I don’t mind small kids. I just don’t think you can have too many of them in this league, and I think now we’ve got Jay Fair and we’ve got Bryce Cain, and I think those are two guys that can play in this league. And then the others all have some length to them.”

On four-star linebacker Joe Phillips…

“Yeah, I can’t remember the exact time frame, but I thought he and (Demarcus) Riddick jumping in there when they had to battle people like Georgia and Alabama for those guys, and for us to hold onto them. I think we signed 12 guys from the state of Alabama, which is big because we want to win this state. I don’t know if we won the state this year or not.

I don’t know if we won the state this year or not. I don’t know how that’s determined. We certainly want to in the future of winning our share if not more than our share in this state. I thought Joseph and Riddick really helped kick-start that.”

On what it took to pull off flipping recruits…

“I think it’s just time and effort. Getting them to campus as many times as you can and seeing if they can’t feel the difference feel about here as opposed to other places. Every individual has a criteria of how they make decisions — and what’s going to be the motivating factor in their decision. I think we’re probably not going to — obviously not going to win all of those. Just have to win our share. I think just putting enough time and effort into the right type of kid and family that we know fits here. We’ve got a really good shot at doing that. The ones that may not fit here? We’re probably not going to be as successful in turning their heads in a short amount of time. I thought we were pretty wise about the targets that we felt like man, this kid and family resonate with the Auburn culture, the Auburn family and the Auburn feel. Let’s invest our time in those.”

On five-star wide receiver Cam Coleman…

“All of our staff put in great effort, but Marcus Davis — he had to spend extra, extra time because of the number of kids we were trying to sign there, too. And the ranking of them. When Cam made his commitment to another school, we immediately said, look, that’s fine, but we’re not going to waiver. We’re not going away, and we’re going to fight to the end. We’ll prove to you that we want you more, that we obviously feel like you’re a difference-maker here. We just were relentless with making sure he understood that. Obviously, it helped that the other school had a coaching change. I’d like to think we were going to win it anyway, but I don’t know if that’s the case or not. I’m glad it worked out the way it did.”

On the reaction to getting Auburn’s top flip targets…

“It’s more of a relief. You’re excited when you watch it, then you’re like, ‘Thank you, lord.’ Some of them, they go quiet on you sometimes, and you wonder.

I mean, to get Amaris — what is he, the No. 37 player in the country? No. 34. The 34th player in the country. That’s pretty big. I think he’s one heck of an athlete. Loved getting to know him, and my in-home visit with him and his mom was incredible. We were behind, obviously, but Coach Garrett did a great job of staying in it, staying in it, staying in it. That’s a difference-maker type of kid. When you get the 34th-ranked player in the country, that should bump us up in the rankings, I would think. Those are rewarding.

At the same time, you think you’ve done all you can to flip another one, then all of a sudden, he goes in another direction. Those, you just take them in stride. You gave your best. Two days ago, was told, ‘I’m coming, I’m coming.’ Today, it changes. Those are always disappointing, because you put great effort in there. But we’ve done this long enough to where those are gonna happen. So, you just keep fighting and keep battling, and hopefully you win more than your share to get us up there where we have some elite classes to start stacking on top of each other.”

On what his recruiting pitch was…

“No, I’m totally opposed to the entitlement syndrome, and I tell them that. Truthfully, if I would have my way, and I wouldn’t — I’m sure there’s something — but I would just as soon as everybody, whatever NIL agreement they have, it would all be the same for your level of classification on the base. Then, everything else is incentive. You play in 30 snaps, you get this. You win a game, you get this. I would love to see people have to earn and strive themselves up and do that. But they don’t ask me. It is what it is. That’s certainly part of the game. We’re only allowed to give them a range that we would see them valued at.

But I really think that the selling the pitch is, look: This place has played for two national championships. Yeah, it hasn’t been as recent as some of the other elite. But there’s, in 12 or 13 years, only six schools that can say that. Alright, so, you can go to the elite right now and help them sustain, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You could also choose, if you want to be a trailblazer and do something different and join together with a group of guys and return a program that’s proven it can be there and return it back to that. That’s the message, along with the environment that we have. Does it fit you? If the environment fits you to where you want to show up every day here and work — because it is work, it’s a full-time job — and you’re motivated by the opportunity to do something early and help us restore something to a place where the passion of the fans and the support of our people has gotta be as good as everywhere else, then this might be the place for you. That’s the message.”

On four-star quarterback Walker White…

“Well, he’s just been so consistent in trying to continue to recruit his team. That’s what you need. You need a couple of those. Keionte Scott, Jaylin Simpson, Austin Keys, Damari Alston — just to mention a few — those are guys who are pitching in and doing the same, too. But Walker took the ownership and the leadership of, ‘Hey, let’s put together a top-10 class. That’s what we’ve said we’ve wanted.’ He certainly jumped in and tried every way in the world to help us do that.”

On the impact of getting recruits to campus for spring practices…

“Well, coming here in January certainly increases the odds. I’m not saying that others that show up in summer won’t, but having them here in all of spring ball with the whole semester to train with Dom, to get in the routine of what it’s like to be a college football player and a student, I think it’s gonna pay them dividends. And then you have the summer to continue to train with Dom, and they were all in the fall camp, and they kinda already know the system and the verbiage. And so it certainly gives them a chance to to have a fair shot at jumping in there and playing some.”

On getting a top-five class next year…

“Well, I’m optimistic. I don’t know. You guys probably would know better than I where we kind of currently stand in that. We’re already at five, so we just gotta hold on. We just gotta keep holding on and add some to it. So, yeah, I think with what we did this year in the short time we had, I think it’s a reasonable expectation to think we should be around that top-five range. Six or seven? I don’t know if that’s terrible either.

But we need the stacks and classes that are competitive with the ones that we’re chasing to close the gap on, and I do think it’s reasonable to expect that.”

On Dorian Mausi, Robert Lewis and Gage Keys…

“Dorian: mature, played a lot of football, solid, smart, understands fits. I put him on the board. He understands it all. I played in a similar system. Alright. So should give you a heavier Mike backer, 240ish, that we really don’t have built quite like that. I’m so excited to get his maturity there. I think that gives us some flexibility with he and Austin at the mic and now, you know, maybe Eugene and one of these others at the backup if it’s not Cam, And then maybe move Cam to a JACK where we can rush the passer a little better. So it just gives us, I mean, Cam needs to be a part of it. I don’t know if it’s at WILL or JACK. But gives us some flexibility along with those young guys to bring along.

Robert, solid. Like I said earlier, I think he can play inside, outside, has some length to him. Has done well against good competition. Gage, length on the inside, levers. Needs to gain a little weight probably. But I thought we liked his activeness and would expect him to be in that rotation of inside guys.”

On what he told recruits to keep them committed…

“I just, you know, we had to work hard at it, but I do think guys like that just knew they felt it fit at Auburn and were loyal to us, and we just preached, ‘Man, let’s stay together.’ And I know you’re gonna get people running at you but just stay together, and we’re fortunate that we had some loyalty in that group.”