Play-calling is complicated, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said. So he compared it to another form of teaching he’s done: high school geometry.

On the SEC coaches’ teleconference with reporters Wednesday, Freeze said whether the play-caller is on the field or up in the press box, they are looking for how to fit the various pieces of the unit together.

They are strategizing the best way to find their way through a defense and the holes or shapes their coverage provides.

Freeze said he taught geography while he was coaching in high school. Freeze was the head coach at Briarcrest High School in Tennessee from 1995-2004, where he famously coached Michael Oher, a future NFL offensive lineman and the subject of the now-controversial movie “The Blind Side.”

Auburn’s play-calling process has gone through a series of changes already this season. At SEC Media Day back in July, Freeze said he no longer felt like the elite play-caller he once may have been, so he hired offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery from Tulsa to take on those duties.

During his own segment of the teleconference, LSU head coach Brian Kelly, Auburn’s opponent this weekend in a game that will begin at 6 p.m. in Baton Rouge, said Auburn’s offense is “difficult” to defend. He praised the work Freeze and Montgomery have done so far despite Auburn’s offense being ranked among the bottom in the SEC, especially in terms of throwing the ball.

Montgomery’s hire would also free up Freeze to focus on many other duties as the head coach of Auburn — highlighted by recruiting.

But that didn’t go as planned. Auburn’s offense struggled significantly through the first five games of the season. Freeze had always stated he was still going to have the right to call plays when he felt he had the hot hand or saw something Montgomery might not. Yet after Auburn’s loss to Texas A&M in Week 4 with a dismal offensive display, Freeze took on significantly more work as a play-caller.

After the 27-20 loss to No. 1 Georgia in Week 5, Freeze said he either called or approved everything on the play sheet, something he had not done before this season. Arguably, it led to Auburn’s best offensive performance of the season considering the circumstances and the opponent. It was one of the few games this season Auburn left without as serious concerns over Payton Thorne as a starting quarterback. But it also still was a game where Auburn failed to pass for more than 100 yards against a Power opponent, something Auburn has not done this season.

His heavy involvement with play calling coupled with the week where Freeze needed to be at his best as a recruiter, as Auburn had more than 50 football recruits on campus for the Georgia game.

It’s one of the many balances he has now as Auburn’s head coach. It could even be similar to — pause for dramatic effect — finding the right symmetry in shapes for his high school class.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]