Auburn enters its first bye week at the halfway point of the season, but not in the position it wanted or expected to be in.

The Tigers currently sit 2-4 and have yet to win a game against a Power 4 team. Apart from Saturday’s loss to Georgia, every game has been close, but Auburn continues to come up short.

Outside of the needed recovery and extra development, the bye week is an opportunity for a larger focus on recruiting and outreach for head coach Hugh Freeze.

The first stop was an appearance at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in Birmingham, followed by a trip to Mobile Monday evening, appearing at the 68 Ventures Bowl 1st & 10 Club meeting.

For the rest of the team, the beginning of the week won’t change much. Freeze said the team will go through its normal Monday routine and will have “two really good practices” on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Auburn is on fall break starting Thursday and Freeze said players will get the rest of the week off.

Multiple players described the bye week as a reset going into the second half of the season, looking to turn the poor early results around.

“We’re coming into this bye week 0-0 and we want to start the new season off 1-0. That’s our goal and that’s what we’re gonna work to achieve,” defensive end Keldric Faulk said Saturday.

When beginning his media availability at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club, Freeze commented on the high school talent in Birmingham, saying the city has “great players here.”

Auburn currently has four players in the Birmingham metro area committed to its 2025 class and three that signed in 2024.

The Tigers currently hold the No. 3 recruiting class in the country for 2024, according to 247Sports. For Freeze, who continued emphasize that the program is slowly moving in the right direction, recruiting and appearing across the state is equally important to the current on-field results.

“You compete against teams that had top 10 recruiting classes for multiple years in a row,” Freeze said at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club. “We’ve had one, and we’re on our way to No. 2. That’s the way we want to build it. And I stay focused on that, and our team and our kids.”

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m