Hugh Freeze Has Every Right To Call Out Bad Play, Despite What Ex-Players Say| Barrett Sallee

Auburn lost an absolutely disgusting game to Arkansas on Saturday. No, seriously, it was as ugly as it gets. The 24-14 disaster included three interceptions from starting quarterback Hank Brown, one from former starter Payton Thorne and a fumble by running back Damari Alston as Alston was headed for the end zone. That led coach Hugh Freeze to say this …

“I know that there’s people open and I know that we’re running the football. We’ve got to find a guy that won’t throw it to the other team, and we’ve got to find running backs that hold on to it,” he said in the postgame press conference.

That sent the Internet into a frenzy and even led former Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace, who was in Oxford when Freeze coached the Rebels, to call out his former leader.

“We’re approaching the point that he’s thrown so many QBs under the bus, that maybe no one wants to play for him?? His offense helped me tremendously put numbers up when I blew my shoulder out …. But why is it someone else’s fault every time there’s a loss ?? … but when there’s a win I watch the press conferences just to count how many times the word “I” is used… appreciate what he did for me , my son wouldn’t be playing for him tho,” Wallace wrote as part of his post (more on the rest of it in a bit).

My response to Wallace and the rest of the country is not who is mad at Freeze for calling out players it’s … “why?”

Hugh Freeze Did Not Lie

It’s not like Brown doesn’t know he threw three interceptions in one half. It’s not like Alston doesn’t know that he fumbled while on the doorstep of a putting up six points. It’s not like Thorne doesn’t know that he was a turnover machine in the loss to Cal that forced Freeze to send him to the bench.

They know that they have to be better. They’re adults who are mature enough to take the criticism. As fans, as media members and as grown-ups, we can’t get mad when coaches speak in coach-speak and also get mad when coaches are honest about things that we all saw with our own eyes.

That’s called accountability.

After the game, Thorne was criticized for saying that Brown should “stay off the phone” after Brown’s miserable performance – including this tweet that has nearly 5 million impressions.

That’s not an awful response. That’s a great response from a veteran public figure who wants to make sure that Brown – a redshirt freshman – blocks out the outside noise and focuses on the important things … like turning the season around.

Now, on to the rest of Wallace’s comments.

“I got a story I’ll keep in my back pocket forever until it’s time. (Auburn staffers calling my phone incoming) But that dude has never helped me a day in his life, he wrote. “It was always only about getting a win for him so he could collect his extra 100 racks a win. If y’all knew the medications and shots I was taking to get that man his money, you wouldn’t believe they would let you walk on a field like that. And with all that, I still feel the tires from the bus.“

OK, that’s something that needs to be explored. I’m a firm believer that there are three sides to every story. One side, the other side and reality – which is somewhere in the middle. Let’s find out if other players have had similar experiences. Let’s find out if players will defend Freeze. Let’s find out all of it.

Look, we all know that coaches and trainers do what they can to get players on the field. After all, we’ve all seen Varsity Blues. Did it go too far? That’s the real question. Freeze calling out players for poor play isn’t, though. That’s actually refreshing … and encouraged in this day and age.