Hugh Freeze wants to shake up the status quo when it comes to spring games.

Auburn’s new head coach believes spring games can often be a “wasted day” — not from a fan perspective or as a recruiting opportunity — but for the coaches and players involved. It’s difficult to fully accomplish everything the team would prefer to get done behind closed doors when the whole day’s events are either broadcast nationally or streamed live.

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With Auburn’s first A-Day game under Freeze just days away, the Tigers’ first-year coach took the opportunity Monday afternoon to propose a solution that he believes would better serve programs, and not just his own.

“I’m going to cry again for the solution,” Freeze said. “The solution is: Allow us to scrimmage somebody on A-Day. Another team. I think everybody would get out of it exactly what they want.”

Freeze has long been a proponent of an annual spring exhibition against another team instead of having his own players square off in a glorified scrimmage. He has held the belief that it’s a better option than the current setup since his days at Ole Miss, and while it’s not a completely new idea, it’s one that has yet to gain any real traction at the national level.

“To me, it makes too much sense not to do it, but I haven’t heard any traction for it,” Freeze said.

On Monday, ahead of Auburn’s 12th practice of the spring, Freeze made his case for the idea, even proposing that teams pick a charity to give proceeds from ticket sales to. In one scenario Freeze sketched out, the spring exhibitions could even be an in-state showcase of sorts. Auburn would play a school like UAB and Alabama would play Troy — or vice versa — with gate revenue donated to support an agreed-upon cause within the state, such as foster care or orphanages.

Along with the potential to raise money for a good cause and further highlight programs within the state or region, Freeze highlighted other manners in which that spring game format could be beneficial, including decreasing injury likelihood for teams. As he noted, teams aren’t going to hit each other’s quarterbacks anyway, since they all practice like that to begin with.

Not to mention the fact that it’s already something that’s done at the levels above and below college. High school teams often have spring jamborees against other schools, while NFL teams have multiple preseason exhibitions before the regular season gets underway.

Why not adopt something similar on a national level for college football?

“I just think it would be great for the sport,” Freeze said. “I think it’d be awesome…. For the life of me, I just don’t understand why we haven’t got to the point where we can pull that off and do something that’ll be helpful to some organization in each state. If every state did this, man, we could make an impact on some people that need it. That would be my idea.

“Until that happens, I think all of us are going to be very guarded.”

For Auburn this year, in its first spring under Freeze, that means a new format for A-Day this weekend and tempered expectations for the on-field product. Instead of the typical first-team vs. second-team format from recent years, Auburn’s defense will start with a predetermined point total and will be tasked with keeping the offense below that score over four quarters.

Freeze also wants to create an exciting experience for fans while trying not to give away too much in front of the cameras. It’s a delicate balance between wanting to keep things pretty simple on A-Day, not wanting to tip his hand too much in terms of scheme and play-calls before the season opener in five months, and making the whole day worthwhile for the fans in attendance.

“It’s just kind of an uncomfortable day,” Freeze said. “So, what do I want to get out of it? I want our fans to be excited about the momentum that is being created here. Do we still have a ways to go? Yes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be excited about where we are currently. And somehow, I’ve got to try to figure out a way where all of those things can occur.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.