John Cohen reveals three key metrics for evaluating Auburn’s Hugh Freeze in 2025
Auburn football began fall camp this week in preparations for what can be a pivotal year for the Tigers.
With College Football Playoff aspirations, Auburn’s season opening game against Baylor will be the country’s first glimpse of the new look Tigers.
Auburn athletics director John Cohen discussed his goals for the Tigers 2025 season Friday on the McElroy and Cubelic in The Morning radio show.
“Last year’s recruiting class featured 9 of the 12 best players in the state of Alabama. I’m really proud of the efforts our staff made and we’re going to see the fruits of that labor,” Cohen said. “We brought in some meaningful transfers especially on the offensive line that we are excited about.”
“The proof is in the pudding, we got to go out there and compete and win,” Cohen continued. “We got to show people the progress we’ve made and not just talk about it but do it.”
When asked about Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, Cohen broke down the three things he’s measuring when evaluating Auburn’s success this fall.
“No.1, the coach no matter what happens has to have the to the locker room. No.2, kids have to get better,” Cohen added. “You have to point to are individual kids getting better, because if kids are getting better you are going to have a great football team. And No. 3, you are recruiting at a high level. I think those are all the things that all coaches are judged on.”
Auburn hasn’t won more than six games since 2019 and is coming off its fourth straight losing season.
With an 11-14 overall record at Auburn, Freeze promised a turnaround season during SEC media days. Cohen trusts Freeze’s vision and says he’s following the same evaluation model.
“Coach Freeze is also evaluating his program in those three areas,” Cohen said. “If we do those things I’ll be able to sleep at night.”
Auburn returns to practice at 10:00 a.m. Saturday in front of the media. AL.com will continue to follow all roster trends throughout fall camp.
Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports forAL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3or email him at [email protected].
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