Demario Douglas remembers being in Liberty’s locker room the morning of Nov. 26, preparing for the Flames’ regular-season finale against New Mexico State when one of his teammates noticed some news on his phone.

It was a report from ESPN that Liberty coach Hugh Freeze was in talks with Auburn about its coaching vacancy and that the two sides had “informally discussed a contract for more than a week,” though no offer was expected until after the regular season wrapped up. The news was a shock to many players in the Liberty locker room, including Douglas, and the report immediately preceded an absolute letdown by the Flames that day.

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Following the news of Auburn and Freeze’s mutual interest in each other, Liberty laid an egg against New Mexico State, falling 49-14 at home to a team that entered the game with a 4-6 record.

“Some players on the team, it kind of hit them hard,” Douglas said Friday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. “Coach Freeze, he did a lot for us, and seeing Coach Freeze leave, it kind of hurt some people. Don’t get me wrong, it hurt me, but at the end of the day, it’s time to play. I feel like that could’ve been the reason why (Liberty lost), but also we have to play with each other. He was still there at that time; he stayed with us through the end of the season. It just didn’t happen — it didn’t end how we wanted it to.”

After one of Liberty’s players first saw the ESPN report, Douglas said that teammate approached Freeze in the locker room about it. Freeze then addressed the report to the entire team not long before kickoff.

“I guess he was probably going to tell us after the game, but he had to tell us before the game because a player came up to him,” Douglas said.

After the loss to New Mexico State, Freeze publicly addressed the report in his postgame press conference. He acknowledged his interest in the job but reiterated no offer had been made to him at the time, adding that the timing of the report “sure didn’t help” Liberty in its final home game of the season.

“I think it had something to do with his flatness,” Freeze said of his team’s performance against New Mexico State. “I’m not one to dodge people that I care for and love. I’m not one to tell them something that isn’t true. I tried to tell them the truth.”

Auburn hired Freeze two days later, officially ending his time at Liberty after four seasons and bringing him to the Plains to take over following the disastrous tenure of Bryan Harsin. At Liberty, Freeze compiled a 34-15 record in four seasons, winning at least eight games each year, with a 10-win campaign in 2020.

The Flames had a top-25 scoring offense in two of those seasons (2020 and 2021) and the 34th-ranked scoring offense in 2019. Last year, Liberty’s offense ranked 71st nationally in scoring. In each of his first three seasons, the Flames were top-25 among FBS teams in yards per play.

Douglas, the only Liberty player at the NFL Combine this week, had a hand in that offensive success. He was the Flames’ leading receiver each of the last two seasons, when he totaled 1,694 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 12.9 yards per reception.

“Loved it,” Douglas said when asked about playing in Freeze’s offense. “Loved it. Coach Freeze is an offensive-minded guy, and he’s going to get his players the ball. I feel like he’s great at scheming up a defense… Coach Freeze, he knows what he’s doing, and against a defense—it’s like it’s quick to him. He reads a defense and is like, ‘Man, I know what to run here.’ Then we just got to execute it.”

Although the manner of Freeze’s exit at Liberty was disappointing to some of Liberty’s players, Douglas believes the head coach will be a good fit at Auburn.

“Wherever he goes, he does great,” Douglas said. “Like I said, he’s an offensive guy. He has an offensive scheme, and he knows how to scheme. He’s been in this field for a minute, and I believe he’s going to be great.”

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