Hugh Freeze, Auburn Man, was back at SEC Media Days on Tuesday for the first time in six years. The last time he participated in the league’s big kickoff celebration of college football something uncomfortable was dogging him like a burn on the roof of his mouth.

Tonguing that thing always makes it worse, but it’s so hard to stop.

There is a curious history of unexpected cringe-inducing moments involving coaches at SEC Media Days. An intoxicating mix of SEC sideshow shenanigans, Paul Finebaum and cosplaying Alabama fans are what made this thing popular, and I hope that no one ever forgets that grassroots weirdness. This year’s four-day event in Nashville is like a glow up for the league. It’s so corporate now. It’s so … professional. No matter where the SEC is headed, though, the SEC lifers among us will always look back with fondness at those days in Hoover and Birmingham.

They were so … what’s the best way to put this … they were so Hugh Freeze at Ole Miss.

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Freeze is the new head coach at Auburn and he’s a major upgrade from the previous guy. Freeze has his baggage, though. In 2017, he was the coach of the Rebels and he was sued by former Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt on the eve of Freeze’s turn in front of the cameras. It was awkward, of course. Freeze handled it the best that he could.

“I keep waiting for the Media Day where I come here and we can just talk about our players,” Freeze said to reporters. “For whatever reason, the journey we’ve been on — obviously, some our fault — has continued for a long time. This’ll be my sixth Media Day, if my memory’s right. Be the fifth time we’re talking about something other than our team.”

Freeze didn’t see another SEC Media Days with Ole Miss. In fact, he only lasted at Ole Miss for another week. Freeze was forced to resign in disgrace after the civil complaint filed against him brought to light a history of phone calls to escort services.

The SEC might be changing, but it’s bringing along Freeze for another ride. I’m ready for it. There’s something poetic about Auburn’s unpolished hue. It tastes and feels and sounds like the old SEC, for good or ill — like grit between the teeth, like an Iron Bowl that suddenly matters, like a hard-written country song by the Hillbilly Shakespeare himself. Hank Williams, Sr., moved to Nashville and became a star, but it was Alabama that formed his tragic genius.

I would not be shocked if Freeze and Auburn upset Nick Saban and Alabama in November. Freeze is that good of a coach. Is the league ready for a renaissance on The Plains? I know that I am. The Ballad of Hugh Freeze begins this way: At least it’s not Bryan Harsin.

The hook of that song goes like this. Why is this guy Hugh Freeze worth the risk?

Answer: Freeze gives Auburn a legitimate chance to beat its rivals and win a national championship. It’s that simple, and it doesn’t matter what teams join the SEC in 2024 or how future schedules stack up against the Tigers. The new ways of the SEC favor an old coach keen on redemption.

Auburn is a mystery like no other going into the 2023 season. Harsin never saw a lead he couldn’t find a way to squander. I don’t know what to expect from Auburn this fall, but coaches tell me that no one in college football makes better second-half adjustments than Freeze. That’s something worth remembering. I asked Freeze about it on Tuesday and he laughed.

“Well, what coach said that?” Freeze asked. “Was it Coach Saban? That would be nice if it came from him.

“I do think we’ve been very good at that through the years. We typically have been able to come out and have good adjustments. Truthfully, I always hold a few things until the second half. I don’t know if that’s wise… but I’ve instructed our staff, let’s kind of hold onto that until the second half.”

Freeze is a complicated country song and a window into the real SEC. That sounds like Auburn to me. His seventh SEC Media Days was not unlike the sixth. I asked him if running back Jarquez Hunter would be available to participate in the beginning of fall camp.

“Yeah, I’m not allowed to comment on university’s policies or procedures at this point,” he said.

Maybe next time he’ll get that chance to talk about his players.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama”, a book about togetherness, hope and rum. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.